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Columbia  (Mnitoergftp 


LIBRARY 


PURCHASED  FROM 
THE 

WILLIAM  C.  SCHERMERHORN 
MEMORIAL  FUND 


THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

A  Study  of  the  Early  Church 
and  Its  Achievements 


BY 

WILLIAM  BANCROFT  HILL,  D.D. 

Frederick  W^yerHaeuser  Professor  of  Biblical  Literature  in 

Vassar  College 


New  York  Chicago 

Fleming  H.  Revell  Company 

London      and      Edinburgh 


Copyriglit,  1922,  by 
FLEMING  H.  REVELL  COMPANY 


36-\SZl^ 


New  York:  158  Fifth  Avetme 
Chicago:  17  North  Wabash  Ave. 
London:  21  Paternoster  Square 
Edinburgh:     75     Princes     Street 


To  the  Noble  Band  of 

Foreign  Missionaries 

in  many  lands  to-day  who  reproduce 

the  Apostolic  Age 


PREFACE 

IiN"  undertaking  to  present  the  history  of  the  Apos- 
tolic Age  in  a  volume  of  moderate  size,  I  have 
had  to  limit  myself  strictly  as  regards  descrip- 
tion and  discussion.  The  restriction  upon  descriptive 
writing  I  do  not  regret.  To  picture  the  view  from  the 
Areopagus  or  to  describe  the  monuments  of  ancient 
Athens,  sheds  little  light  upon  Paul's  labours  in  that 
city.  But  I  wish  it  had  been  possible  to  discuss  more 
fully  the  mooted  points  in  apostolic  history,  which  are 
many.  The  temptation  to  do  so,  in  footnotes  if  not  in 
the  text,  was  strong;  but  I  have  kept  to  the  rule  of 
simply  stating  my  conclusions  without  going  into  all 
that  might  be  said  against  them.  Lest  this  should 
make  me  seem  at  times  dogmatic,  I  wish  to  say  that  I 
have  ever  recognized  the  authority  of  the  great  schol- 
ars, and  shaped  my  statements  after  careful  considera- 
tion of  what  they  set  forth. 

While  I  have  been  indebted  constantly  to  those  who 
have  written  before  me,  I  have  rarely  made  acknowl- 
edgment of  that  debt.  Often  it  would  be  impossible 
to  do  so;  for  after  a  quarter  of  a  century  spent  in 
studying  and  teaching  the  Apostolic  Age,  one  is  puz- 
zled to  trace  the  source  of  many  of  his  most  helpful 
ideas.  Indeed,  every  writer  upon  a  Biblical  subject 
"  is  like  unto  a  man  that  is  a  householder,  who  bring- 
eth  out  of  his  treasure  things  new  and  old"  (Matt. 
13:52). 

The  Apostolic  Age  was  the  great  missionary  age  of 
the  church,  and  should  be  studied  as  such.     For  this 

7 


8  PREFACE 

reason  I  have  found  my  own  somewhat  intimate  ac- 
quaintance with  foreign  missions  a  constant  aid  in 
realizing  the  work  and  problems  of  the  apostles  and 
their  churches.  Much  that  to  the  scholar  in  his  study 
seems  inexplicable,  becomes  clear  and  almost  a  matter 
of  course  to  the  missionary  who  labours  in  a  field  where 
heathen  life  and  thought  similar  to  that  of  the  first 
century  surround  him.  I  am  convinced  that  the  most 
illuminating  book  on  the  Apostolic  Age  remains  to  be 
written  by  some  one  who  combines  the  ripest  scholar- 
ship with  the  widest  knowledge  of  foreign  missions 
to-day. 

W.  B.  H. 
Vassar  College, 

poughkeepsie,  n.  y. 


Contents 

Introduction 13 

1.  Importance  of  the  Apostolic  Age.     2.  Historical 
Sources.     3.  Luke  and  the  Book  of  Acts. 

I.    The  Days  of  Preparation  and  Pentecost    23 
1.  The  Forty  Days  with  Jesus.     2.  Birth  of  the 
Church.     3.  The  Baptism  of  the  Church. 

II.    The  Growth  of  the  Church  in  Jerusalem    36 

1.  Outward    Growth.     2.  Inward     Development. 

3.  The  First  Testings.    4.  Martyrdom  of  Stephen. 

III.    The  Entrance  Into  the  Larger  Field  .     53 
1.  The  Scattering  by  Persecution.     2.  The  Jews 
of  the   Dispersion.     3.  The   Gospel   in   Samaria. 

4.  The  Eunuch  from  Ethiopia.     5.  The  Case  of 
Cornelius. 

IV.    The  Early  Life  of  Paul     ....     67 
1.  The  Boy  in  Tarsus.     2.  The  Young  Man  in 
Jerusalem.      3.    From    Persecutor    to    Penitent. 
4.  The  Disciple  at  Damascus. 

V.    Paul  Preaching  the  Faith        ...     83 
1.  In  Damascus  and  Arabia.     2.  In  Jerusalem  and 
Judea.     3.  In   Syria  and   Cilicia.     4.  With   Bar- 
nabas at  Antioch.     5.  The  Case  of  Titus. 

VI.    Paul's  First  Missionary  Journey   .       .     98 
1.  The  Roman  World.     2.  The  Call  and  the  Tour 
Through  Cyprus.     3.  In  Pisidian  Antioch.     4.  In 
Iconium,  Lystra  and  Derbe.     5.  The  Return  to 
Antioch  in  Syria. 

VII.    The  Battle  for  Christian  Unity    .       .116 
1.  Christians  and  the  Law.     2.  Peter  at  Antioch. 
3.  The  Council  at  Jerusalem. 

VTII.    The  Second  Missionary  Journey     .       .   131 
1.  From  Antioch  to  Troas.   2.  Through  Macedonia. 
3.  In    Athens.       4.   In    Cormth.       5.  The    Two 
Letters  to  the  Thessalonians.    6.  The  Return  to 
Antioch. 

9 


10  CONTENTS 

IX.    The  Battle  for  Christian  Equality      .  159 
1.  James,  the  Brother  of  Jesus.    2,  The  Epistle 
of  James.    3.  The   Trouble  in  Galatia.    4.  The 
Letter  to  the  Galatians. 

X.    Paul's  Years  at  Ephesus   ....  175 
1.  Ephesus  and  the  Temple  of  Artemis.     2.  Apollos 
and    His    Disciples.     3.  The    Conquest   of   Asia. 
4.  The  Close  of  the  Work. 

XI.    The  Letters  to  the  Corinthians     .       .  188 
1.  The  Fu-st  Letter,  now  II  Cor.  6:14-7:1.     2.  The 
Second  Letter,  now  I  Corinthians.     3.  The  Third 
Letter,    now    II     Cor.    10-13.      4.  The     Fourth 
Letter,  now  II  Cor.  1-9. 

XII.    Paul's  Preparation  for  Spain  .       .       .  205 

1.  The    Collection    for    the    Poor    in    Jerusalem. 

2.  The  Letter  to  the  Romans.  3.  The  Journey  to 
Jerusalem. 

XIII.  Paul  a  Prisoner  op  Rome  ....  221 

1.  In  Custody  of  Lysias.     2.  In  Custody  of  Felix. 

3.  In  Custody  of  Festus,  4.  In  Custody  of 
Juhus.     5.  In  Custody  of  Nero. 

XIV.  The  Letters  of  Paul  in  Prison       .       .  233 
1.  The  Note  to  Philemon.     2.  The  Letter  to  the 
Colossians.     3.  The    Letter    to    the    Ephesians. 

4.  The  Letter  to  the  Philippians. 

XV.    The  Passing  of  Paul 248 

1.  Problems  of  the  Pastorals.  2.  The  First  Letter 
to  Timothy.  2.  The  letter  to  Titus.  3.  The 
Second  Letter  to  Timothy.  4.  Paul's  Services  to 
Christianity. 

XVI     The  Later  Church  in  Palestine     .       .  266 
1.  Rome   and   Palestine.     2.  The   Jews   and   the 
Christians.     3.  The     Epistle    to     the     Hebrews. 
4.  The  Epistle  of  Jude. 

XVII     The  Synoptic  Gospels         ....  284 
1.  The   Oral   Gospel.     2.  The   Savings   of  Jesus. 
3.  The  Gospel  of  Mark.     4.  The  Gospel  of  Mat- 
thew.    5.  The  Gospel  of  Luke. 


CONTENTS  11 

XVIII.     Christianity  and  the  Roman  Govern- 
ment          300 

1.  The  Persecution  bv  Nero.  2.  The  Later  Per- 
secutions. 3.  The  Later  Years  of  Peter.  4.  The 
First  Epistle  of  Peter.  5.  The  Second  Epistle  of 
Peter. 

XIX.    The  Revelation  of  John    ....  314 
1.  The  Problems  of  the  Book.     2.  The  Nature  of 
an    Apocalypse.     3.  The    Occasion    of    Writing. 
4.  The  Contents  of  the  Book. 

XX.     The  Apostle  John 331 

1.  The  Labours  of  John.  2.  What  Did  John  Write? 
3.  The  First  Epistle  of  John.  4.  The  Second  and 
Third  Epistles  of  John.     5.  The  Gospel  of  John. 

XXI.    Church  Membership  and  Government  .  350 
1.  Admission   Into   the   Church.     2.  Chiu*ch  Fel- 
lowship.      3.  Church  Officers.       4.  Church  Dis- 
cipline. 

XXII.     Christian  Worship 367 

L  Sacred  Days.  2.  Sacred  Places.  3.  The  Pub- 
lic Religious  Service.  4.  Women  and  Pubhc  Wor- 
ship.    5.  The  Private  Religious  Service. 

Chronology 381 

Index 383 


INTRODUCTION 

THE  Apostolic  Age  began  when  Jesus  entrusted 
to  His  disciples  the  work  of  proclaiming  His 
gospel  and  building  His  church;  this  was  in 
the  year  29  or  possibly  30  a.d.  But  when  did  it  end? 
If  we  define  it  as  the  period  when  the  apostles  were 
still  alive,  its  close  was  when  the  last  one  died, — a  date 
we  do  not  know.  James,  the  brother  of  John,  was 
martyred  in  44  a.d.,  and  was  probably  the  first  of  the 
Twelve  to  die;  but  we  have  no  certain  information 
about  the  death  of  the  others.  If  the  Apostolic  Age  is 
defined  more  broadly  as  the  period  in  which  the  church 
assumed  an  established  form  and  creed  through  the 
influence  of  the  apostles,  still  there  is  question  as  to 
the  proper  date  for  its  termination.  Many  scholars 
would  select  70  a.d.,  the  year  when  Judaism  received 
what  promised  to  be  a  mortal  blow  by  the  burning  of 
the  temple,  the  destruction  of  the  holy  city,  and  the 
suppression  of  the  Sanhedrin.  For  the  Jewish  portion 
of  the  apostolic  church  that  date  certainly  marks  an 
epoch;  but  for  the  Gentile  portion,  which  was  then 
much  the  larger,  it  has  far  less  significance.  A  more 
favourite  date,  which  we  shall  adopt,  is  100  a.d.,  not 
mainly  because  tradition  says  that  John,  as  the  last  of 
the  apostles,  died  about  that  time,  but  because  at  the 
end  of  the  century  the  freshness  and  force  of  apostolic 
initiative  had  ceased,  and  the  spirit  that  produced  the 

13 


14  INTRODUCTION 

Old  Catholic  Churcli  of  the  second  century  was  becom- 
ing dominant 

1.     The  Importance  of  the  Apostolic  Age. 

The  Apostolic  Age  is  often  held  up  for  admiration 
and  imitation  as  the  time — and  the  only  time — ^when 
Christianity  existed  in  purity  and  perfection,  and  when 
church  life  and  institutions  were  ideal.  This  is  a 
serious  mistake.  If  we  bear  in  mind  the  environment 
in  which  the  Church  had  to  live,  and  from  which  it 
gained  its  members, — the  narrow  and  bigoted  Jewish 
world,  the  depraved,  superstitious,  idolatrous  Gentile 
world, — ^we  cannot  expect  to  find  it  free  from  defects. 
The  apostle  of  old,  like  the  missionary  of  to-day,  had 
to  build  with  the  material  he  found  at  hand ;  and  much 
of  it  was  wood,  hay,  stubble.  Moreover,  to  select  any 
period  in  the  past  as  a  pattern  and  seek  simply  to  re- 
produce it,  is  to  check  all  healthy  growth  and  develop- 
ment, thereby  making  Christianity  as  stereotyped  and 
unprogressive  as  Islam.  The  Golden  Age  lies  ever  in 
future,  not  in  the  past. 

Nevertheless,  the  Apostolic  Age  is  for  every  student 
the  most  important  period  of  church  history  except  his 
own.  All  we  know  about  the  life  and  teachings  of 
Jesus  and  the  origin  of  the  Christian  religion  is  gained 
from  this  period  in  which  the  New  Testament,  that 
precious  text-book  of  our  faith,  came  into  existence. 
Without  a  knowledge  of  the  beginnings,  the  later  move- 
ments of  Christianity  are  as  mysterious  as  were  the 
rise  and  fall  of  the  Nile  when  its  sources  were  un- 
known. Again,  these  early  years  were  a  time  of  fresh- 
ness and  enthusiasm,  when  the  Church  displayed  a 
force  and  consecration  that  have  never  been  surpassed 
and  form  an  ever-inspiring  example.     The  Apostolic 


INTRODUCTION  15 

Age  was  the  great  missionary  age  of  the  Church.  The 
apostles  were,  as  the  name  signifies,  missionaries;  and 
the  whole  Church  was  aflame  with  missionary  zeal. 
The  record  of  those  days,  given  in  the  New  Testament, 
is  a  record  of  mission  work,  at  first  among  the  Jews, 
home  missions,  but  soon  and  mainly  among  the  Gen- 
tiles, foreign  missions.  The  experiences  and  problems, 
the  trials  and  triumphs  of  the  Apostolic  Church  are 
repeated  to-day  on  mission  fields;  so  that  the  Book  of 
Acts  and  the  epistles  of  Paul  remain  the  best  manual 
for  mission  workers ;  while,  on  the  other  hand,  an  inti- 
mate acquaintance  with  present-day  missions  is  an  al- 
most indispensable  preparation  for  a  full  understand- 
ing of  the  first  Christian  century.  Above  all,  the  Apos- 
tolic Age  was  a  day  of  mighty  personalities,  of  men 
whose  minds  were  illumined  by  the  Holy  Spirit  and 
whose  words  have  been  recognized  and  treasured  as 
inspired  utterances.  We  look  up  to  these  men  as  our 
authoritative  teachers.  But  to  interpret  their  teach- 
ings we  must  know  not  only  what  they  said,  but  when 
and  to  whom  and  why  they  said  it.  The  text  of  the 
New  Testament  is  not  complete  until  we  add  the  con- 
text of  the  circumstances  that  called  it  forth. 

2.     The  Historical  Sources. 

For  our  knowledge  of  the  Apostolic  Age  we  have  to 
rely  almost  wholly  upon  the  New  Testament.  Its 
various  books  were  all  or  nearly  all  written  during  the 
first  century;  so  a  student  has  the  unusual  advantage 
of  direct  access  to  contemporaneous  documents.  The 
historical  value  of  each  will  be  considered  as  we  take 
them  up  later  on.  Other  Christian  sources  are  few. 
A  book  that  nearly  gained  a  place  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment is  the  First  Epistle  of  Clement  to  the  Corinthians, 


16  INTKODUCTION 

written  in  95  a.d.  by  a  bishop  of  Rome  to  rebuke  cer- 
tain disorders  in  the  church  at  Corinth.  Its  special 
value  is  the  light  it  throws  upon  church  organization 
at  that  time.  A  little  book  recently  discovered  is  the 
Didache  or  Teaching  of  the  Twelve  Apostles,  written 
not  long  after  100  a.d.  and  incorporating  an  earlier 
manual  of  Christian  instruction  known  as  The  Two 
Ways.  Considering  its  size  we  are  surprised  at  the 
amount  of  information  it  gives  concerning  the  rites 
and  the  life  of  the  church.  The  only  Jewish  historian 
of  the  period  is  Josephus ;  from  him  we  gain  a  full  his- 
tory of  Palestine  down  to  the  close  of  the  Jewish  War, 
70  A.D.,  but  only  an  item  or  two  about  Christianity. 
Roman  historians  of  the  first  century  are  few  in  num- 
ber, and  there  was  little  to  make  them  notice  the 
obscure  and  despised  sect  of  Christians.  Tacitus 
graphically  describes  how  they  were  persecuted  by 
E'ero,  and  in  this  connection  gives  the  following  ac- 
count of  the  origin  of  Christianity :  ^'  The  name 
[Christians]  was  derived  from  Christ  who  in  the  reign 
of  Tiberius  had  suffered  under  Pontius  Pilate. 
Though  repressed  for  a  time,  the  deadly  superstition 
broke  out  again  not  only  through  Judea,  the  source  of 
this  evil,  but  through  the  city  [Rome]  whither  all  hor- 
rible and  shameful  things  from  every  quarter  flow  to- 
gether and  are  practiced.'^  Suetonius  seems  to  tell  of 
a  clash  between  the  Jews  and  the  Christians  in  Rome, 
resulting  in  the  expulsion  of  both  by  Claudius  (Acts 
18:2).  And  Pliny  the  Younger  gives  a  most  inter- 
esting account,  which  will  be  quoted  later,  of  his  ex- 
periences with  the  Christians  when  he  was  governor 
of  Bythynia  in  112  a.d.  Archaeological  research  has 
found  practically  nothing  that  can  be  pronounced  a 
Christian  work  of  the  first  century;  the  church  was 


INTRODUCTION  17 

too  poor  and  feeble  and  persecuted  to  build  monuments 
or  construct  edifices.  But  archaeology  lias  done  much 
to  strengthen  our  confidence  in  the  Book  of  Acts  by 
showing  its  accuracy  concerning  the  complex  details  of 
the  life  of  the  times. 

3.     Luke  and  the  Book  of  Acts. 

The  one  historical  book  in  the  New  Testament,  apart 
from  the  Gospels,  is  the  Book  of  Acts ;  and  we  have  to 
depend  largely  upon  it  for  our  knowledge  of  the  first 
half  of  the  Apostolic  Age.  Its  trustworthiness  has 
been  constantly  assailed  by  writers  who  reject  miracles 
and  the  supernatural  origin  of  Christianity,  both  of 
which  are  clearly  set  forth  in  the  book,  and  also  by 
writers  whose  theories  about  the  early  development  of 
the  church  do  not  agree  with,  the  account  in  Acts. 
Some  critics  maintain  that  it  is  wholly  a  second-cen- 
tury piece  of  fiction;  while  others,  recognizing  that  it 
contains  much  authentic  history,  try  to  prove  that  it  is 
a  patchwork  of  first-century  fragments  put  together  in 
the  second  century  by  some  unknown  editor  or  red- 
actor who  added  whatever  portions  the  individual 
critic  does  not  wish  to  accept.  Since  Acts  is  such  an 
important  source,  we  must  consider  carefully  who  the 
author  was  and  what  grounds  we  have  for  trusting  his 
statements. 

Certain  portions  of  Acts,  namely,  16 :  10-17 ;  20 : 5- 
15 ;  21 : 1-18 ;  27 : 1-28 :  16,— written  in  the  first  person 
plural,  and  therefore  known  as  the  "  we  "  passages, — 
are  evidently  by  an  eyewitness.  Their  minute  and 
graphic  details  and  mention  of  matters  of  purely  per- 
sonal interest  reveal  this.  Some  scholars  assert  that 
they  are  portions  of  a  journal  kept  by  one  of  Paul's 
travel  companions,  which  came  down  to  the  late  and 


18  INTRODUCTION 

unknown  author  of  Acts  and  were  incorporated  by  him 
in  his  book.  What  became  of  the  rest  of  the  precious 
document,  thej  do  not  attempt  to  tell  us.  But  in  style 
and  vocabulary  these  portions  are  one  with  the  rest  of 
Acts;  and  certainly  if  the  compiler  rewrote  the  frag- 
ments to  make  them  harmonize  with  his  own  composi- 
tion, he  would  not  have  left  them  thus  awkwardly  in 
the  first  person  when  the  rest  is  in  the  third.  The  sim- 
plest and  most  natural  explanation  of  the  change  in 
persons  is  that  the  writer  uses  "  we  "  whenever  he  him- 
self was  present  in  the  scenes  he  describes.  If,  then, 
the  author  of  the  "  we ''  passages  is  the  author  of  the 
whole  book,  he  must  be  some  companion  of  Paul  who 
is  not  mentioned  by  name  in  Acts,  but  who,  being  with 
Paul  at  Kome  (28:16),  would  naturally  be  named  in 
some  one  of  his  letters  written  from  Kome.  Luke  is 
such  a  companion;  and  tradition  assigns  the  book  to 
him.  Apart  from  what  we  may  gather  from  the  ^^  we  " 
passages,  we  know  only  that  he  was  a  Gentile,  a  co- 
labourer  with  Paul  in  Kome,  and  his  ''  beloved  physi- 
cian" (Ool.  4:14;  Phile.  24;  II  Tim.  4:11).  It  is 
claimed  that  his  authorship  of  the  Third  Gospel  and 
Acts  is  indicated  by  their  accurate  use  of  medical 
terms  and  their  frequent  accounts  of  healings;  but  all 
that  can  fairly  be  said  is  that  these  show  the  author  to 
have  had  a  deep  interest  in  medical  matters,  such  as 
would  befit  a  physician. 

If  Luke  or  whoever  wrote  Acts  was  PauFs  com- 
panion at  the  times  indicated  by  the  "  we ''  passages, 
he  had  abundant  opportunity  to  learn  the  facts  he  nar- 
rates not  only  from  his  own  observation  and  from  Paul, 
but  also  from  Peter  and  other  apostolic  workers  whom 
he  must  have  met  repeatedly.  Moreover,  there  are 
cleai   indications  that  when  writing  the  early  part  of 


INTRODUCTION  19 

the  book  he  made  use  of  an  Aramaic  document,  a 
record  of  the  first  years  of  the  church  in  Jerusalem, 
as  his  main  source.  His  narrative  covers  a  wide 
field, — Palestine,  Syria,  Asia  Minor,  Greece,  Rome, — 
at  a  time  when  in  social,  political  and  religious  condi- 
tions these  lands  differed  much  from  one  another,  and 
were  undergoing  frequent  changes.  Had  the  author 
lived  in  a  later  century  or  been  a  careless  historian,  he 
could  not  have  avoided  errors  and  anachronisms.  His 
freedom  from  these,  as  increasingly  shown  by  arch- 
aeological and  historical  research,  is  a  strong  proof  of 
his  trustworthiness.  Another  proof  of  the  same  is  the 
agTcement  of  his  statements  with  those  in  Paul's  let- 
ters. There  are  discrepancies,  such  as  always  arise 
when  two  persons  independently  describe  the  same 
event,  and  which  in  this  instance  prove  that  the  author 
of  Acts  could  not  have  been  a  second-century  Christian, 
writing  with  Paul's  epistles  at  hand  for  consultation; 
yet  the  two  accounts  not  only  are  in  general  agreement, 
but  have  many  coincidences  that  could  not  be  designed 
because  they  do  not  become  evident  until  Acts  is  care- 
fully studied  along  with  the  epistles.  These  facts  col- 
lectively have  led  the  majority  of  scholars  to-day  to 
conclude  both  that  Luke  wrote  Acts  and  that  he  was  an 
historian  of  high  order.  The  conclusion  is  of  great 
importance  since  it  bears  upon  more  than  our  knowl- 
edge of  the  Apostolic  Age.  The  author  of  Acts  was 
unquestionably  the  author  of  the  Third  Gospel;  in 
dedication,  style,  vocabulary,  and  arrangement  of  mate- 
rial the  two  books  are  alike,  and  the  writer  himself 
links  them  together  (Acts  1:1).  Therefore,  if  his 
history  of  the  apostles  is  a  careful  and  trustworthy  nar- 
rative, we  can  accept  with  confidence  his  record  of  the 
life  of  Jesus. 


20  INTRODUCTION 

In  the  thought  of  Luke  the  Book  of  Acts  was  a 
natural  continuation  of  the  gospel  narrative.    His  first 
book  told  what  Jesus  "  began  both  to  do  and  to  teach 
until  the  day  in  which  He  was  received  up ''   (Acts 
1:1-2);  this  second  book  tells  what  Jesus  continued 
to   do   and  to   teach   through  the   apostles   after   His 
ascension.      He    writes    as   before   for    Theophilus, — 
either  some   special  friend  or,   as  the  name  signifies, 
any  "  lover  of  God."     There  was  need  of  his  book ;  for 
many  of  the  Christians  in  his  day  must  have  had  very 
little  idea  of  how  the  church  started  in  Jerusalem,  or 
how  the  gospel   came  by  stages  to  them.    He   shows 
clearly  the  instincts  of  an  historian;  but  he  does  not 
undertake  to  give  a  history  of  the  whole  church,  or  of 
all  the  apostles,  or  even  of  Peter  and  Paul.     What  he 
does  set  forth  is  how  Christianity  burst  the  bonds  of 
Judaism  and  developed  from  a  little  sect  into  a  uni- 
versal religion;  how  it  spread  from  Jerusalem  to  the 
center  of  the  Roman  world  (note  that  the  various  sec- 
tions of  the  book  each  end  with  a  statement  of  the 
growth   of   the  church,    6:7;    9:31;    12:24;    16:5; 
19 :  20)  ;  and  what  an  important  part  Paul  took  in  its 
development.     The  book  is  a  record  of  the  fulfilment 
of  the  Lord's  farewell  words,  "  Ye  shall  receive  power 
when  the  Holy  Spirit  is  come  upon  you;  and  ye  shall 
be  my  witnesses  both  in  Jerusalem  and  in  all  Judea 
and  Samaria  and  unto  the  uttermost  part  of  the  earth  " 
(1:8).     There   seems   to  be,    also,    a  purpose   to  set 
forth  the  fact  that  in  the  early  days  of  the  church  the 
Roman  government  was  friendly  and,  whenever  oppor- 
tunity   for    investigation    was    given,    pronounced    the 
charges  against  Christians  to  be  false  and  malicious 
(13:12;  16:39;  17:9;  18:14;  23:29;  28:31). 
The  record  brings  Paul  to  Rome,  and  closes  abruptly 


INTRODUCTION  21 

with  the  statement  that  he  was  there  two  years  in  cap- 
tivity, though  allowed  to  preach  and  teach.  Why  did 
Luke  stop  just  at  this  point?  The  old  answer,  which 
some  still  give,  was  that  he  had  brought  his  story  down 
to  date;  if  so,  and  if  Paul  reached  Rome  in  59  a.d., 
the  time  of  writing  was  61  a.d.  Other  answers  are 
that,  having  traced  the  spread  of  Christianity  to  the 
center  of  the  Roman  world,  he  had  completed  his  ap- 
pointed task,  or  that  he  had  reached  the  point  where 
the  Roman  government  began  to  be  unfriendly,  and 
therefore  preferred  to  keep  silent  about  Paul's  severer 
imprisonment  and  death.  The  simplest  answer  is  that 
he  stopped  because  his  roll  of  papyrus  had  grown  as 
large  as  was  usable, — as  large  as  that  of  his  Gospel; 
and  he  closed  this  volume,  as  he  did  the  Gospel,  with 
a  brief  summary  of  events  to  be  described  more  fully 
in  the  next  (28:30-31;  cf.  Luke  24:50-53).  A  hint 
of  his  purpose  to  write  a  third  volume  may  lie  in  his 
opening  words  where  he  speaks  of  the  Gospel  not  as 
"  the  former  treatise,"  which  would  limit  his  books  to 
two,  but  as  '^  the  first  treatise "  which  implies  still 
others  to  come.  Alas !  a  third  volume  was  never  writ- 
ten,— why,  we  do  not  know. 

Acts  was  written,  of  course,  after  the  Gospel  of 
Luke,  whose  date  is  usually  thought  to  be  not  long  after 
the  fall  of  Jerusalem  in  70  a.d.  To  fix  the  time  of 
writing  more  exactly  is  impossible.  The  writer's  de- 
sire to  set  forth  the  former  friendliness  of  the  Roman 
government,  would  indicate  a  period  when  govern- 
mental persecution  was  threatened,  say  the  early  years 
of  Domitian,  who  reigned  81-96  a.d.  Some  scholars 
find  indications  that  Luke  was  acquainted  with  the 
Jewish  Antiquities  of  Josephus,  which  was  written 
93-94:  A.D. ;  if  this  could  be  proved,  the  date  of  Acts 


22  INTRODUCTION 

would  have  to  be  placed  still  later.  If  the  authorship 
by  Luke  is  established,  the  exact  time  when  he  wrote 
is  not  greatly  important. 

The  two  principal  Greek  texts  of  Acts  are  repro- 
duced for  the  English  reader  in  the  two  versions  with 
which  he  is  familiar.  The  Authorized  or  King  James 
Version  translates  the  text  generally  used  and  officially 
accepted  in  the  fourth  century;  and  the  Revised  Ver- 
sion follows  an  earlier  text  which  modem  scholarship 
pronounces  most  nearly  the  original.  A  third  text,  not 
reproduced  in  any  version  but  often  referred  to  and 
important  in  the  study  of  Acts,  is  that  of  Codex  Bezae 
or  D, — a  sixth  century  manuscript  now  in  the  library 
of  Cambridge  University.  It  differs  from  the  other 
texts  by  slight  additions  and  interpolations,  e.g.,  Peter 
and  the  angel  when  leaving  the  prison  "  went  out  and 
descended  the  seven  steps"  (12:10),  and  Paul  at 
Ephesus  was  reasoning  daily  in  the  school  of  Tyran- 
nus  "from  the  fifth  to  the  tenth  hour"  (19:  9).  If 
Codex  Bezae  stood  alone,  we  might  disregard  it,  but  it 
is  the  chief  representative  of  a  gTOup  of  manuscripts 
whose  text,  called  the  Western  Text  and  showing  the 
same  sort  of  variations,  was  prevalent  in  the  second 
century.  How  valuable  these  bits  of  extra  information 
are,  it  is  hard  to  tell.  Probably  they  came  down  by 
tradition,  and  were  added  by  copyists  who  wished  to 
preserve  them.  Some  seem  to  be  historic,  and  all  de- 
serve consideration.  Any  good  commentary  will  give 
the  most  important  ones. 


THE  DAYS  OF  PEEPAKATION  AKD 
PENTECOST 

THE  Apostolic  Age  cannot  be  separated  from 
the  life  of  Jesus.  Even  those  who  see  in 
Him  only  a  remarkable  Galilean  peasant, 
recognize  that  His  influence  formed  and  His  teachings 
illuminated  the  little  band  of  men  and  women  who 
were  the  nucleus  of  the  Christian  church, — the  tiny 
seed  from  which  was  to  spring  an  innumerable  com- 
pany of  believers.  And  those  who  worship  Him  as  the 
Saviour  of  the  world  gladly  confess  that  the  works  of 
the  apostles  were  wrought  through  faith  in  Him,  and 
the  truths  they  taught  were  a  part  of  ''  the  light  of  the 
knowledge  of  the  glory  of  God  in  the  face  of  Jesus 
Christ.''  Accordingly,  a  study  of  what  Jesus  said  and 
did,  involving  a  study  also  of  the  life,  thought  and  Mes- 
sianic expectations  of  those  among  whom  He  lived  and 
to  whom  He  offered  Himself  as  Messiah,  is  an  indis- 
pensable preparation  for  a  study  of  the  Apostolic  Age. 
But  the  subject  is  so  large  and  important  that  I  have 
given  it  a  volume  by  itself,  and  shall  not  attempt  even 
to  outline  it  in  the  opening  chapter  of  this  book.  On 
the  other  band,  no  view  of  Christ  is  complete  without 
a  careful  survey  of  the  labours  and  teachings  of  His 
disciples;  for  in  them  we  may  see  Him  still  working 
and  teaching,  even  as  Paul  declares  when  he  says,  "  It 
is  no  longer  I  that  live,  but  Christ  liveth  in  me  "  (Gal. 
2:20).  For  this  reason  the  student  of  the  life  of 
Jesus,  like  the  writer  of  the  Book  of  Acts,  is  conscious 
of  no  break  or  new  beginning  when  he  passes  from  the 

23 


24  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

gospel  story  to  the  history  of  the  early  Christian 
church.  He  is  still  pursuing  the  record  of  the  world's 
redemption  hy  divine  love  incarnate. 

1.    The  Forty  Days  with  Jesus. 

The  period  between  the  resurrection  and  the  ascen- 
sion is  usually  studied  as  a  part  of  the  life  of  Jesus, 
attention  being  centered  upon  the  empty  tomb,  the 
number  and  character  of  His  appearances  to  His  dis- 
ciples, the  nature  of  His  body,  and  whatever  proves 
that  He  was  "declared  to  be  the  Son  of  God  with 
power  by  the  resurrection  from  the  dead  "  (Rom.  1:4). 
In  this  case  little  is  noted  concerning  the  disciples 
themselves  except  the  way  in  which  their  despair  was 
changed  to  joyful  assurance, — a  change  without  which 
there  never  could  have  been  the  Christian  church. 
But  if  the  period  is  studied  as  a  part  of  the  training 
of  the  disciples  for  future  service,  we  soon  recognize 
that  no  other  days  were  so  important  and  fruitful. 
They  must  have  been  more  full  of  personal  instruction 
by  the  risen  Lord  than  is  usually  realized.  His  meet- 
ings with  His  followers  may  have  been  greater  in  num- 
ber than  what  are  reported;  and  certainly  they  were 
not  brief,  fugitive  manifestations  of  Himself.  The 
long  afternoon  walk  to  Emmaus,  the  breakfast  and  sub- 
sequent conversation  at  the  Lake,  the  evening  reunions 
in  the  upper  room,  these  were  not  of  short  duration; 
and  there  is  no  reason  to  suppose  that  the  others  were. 
And  all  these  many  hours  of  closest  intercourse  were 
devoted  to  the  instruction  of  the  disciples,  as,  truly, 
there  was  great  need  that  they  should  be. 

When  the  little  band  fairly  gTasped  the  stupendous 
fact  that  their  Lord  had  triumphed  over  death,  they 
were  filled  with  joy  and  courage;  but  they  were  far 


DAYS  OF  PREPARATION  AND  PENTECOST  25 

from  being  prepared  to  go  forth  and  proclaim  His 
gospel.  They  lacked  knowledge,  organization  and 
power.  They  had  not  fully  gained  the  message  they 
were  to  carry  to  a  waiting  world ;  they  had  not  learned 
to  work  as  one  body  in  proclaiming  it ;  and  the  inward 
impelling  force,  the  '^  we  cannot  but  speak "  (Acts 
4:  20),  had  not  yet  been  felt.  They  could  tell  the  story 
of  the  cross,  but  with  feeble  comprehension  of  its 
meaning;  they  were  severally  members  of  Christ,  but 
not  yet  unitedly  the  body  of  Christ ;  and  their  labours 
without  the  Holy  Spirit  would  be  lifeless  and  fruitless. 
Therefore,  for  them,  as  for  all  missionaries,  there  had 
to  be  a  period  of  special  preparation  before  they  could 
go  forth  to  make  disciples.  In  their  case  the  period 
was  very  brief,  but  the  training  was  intense. 

Up  to  the  time  of  His  death  Jesus  had  laboured 
against  insuperable  obstacles  when  He  tried  to  impart 
His  gospel  to  His  followers.  Their  preoccupation  with 
old,  erroneous  ideas,  their  interest  in  the  marvellous 
rather  than  in  the  important,  their  lack  of  spiritual 
understanding,  tried  Him  sorely  (Mark  8:  17;  9:  19; 
14:  37)  ;  but  what  hindered  most  was  the  fact  that  not 
until  the  cross  had  been  actually  before  their  eyes, 
could  He  make  clear  to  them  its  wondrous  meaning. 
The  pressure  of  these  limitations  upon  His  spirit  is 
revealed  in  His  cry,  "  I  have  a  baptism  to  be  baptized 
with,  and  how  am  I  straitened  till  it  be  accom- 
plished"  (Luke  12:50).  After  the  resurrection  the 
hindrances  were  removed;  and  henceforth  He  could 
speak,  no  more  in  dark  sayings  but  plainly  (John 
16:25),  and  to  disciples  no  longer  indifferent  and 
stupid  but  stirred  to  the  depths  and  ready  to  profit  by 
every  word  of  a  Teacher  who  had  come  back  after  they 
thought  they  had  lost  Him  forever. 


26  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

There  was,  indeed,  mucli  for  tlie  disciples  to  learn 
which  hitherto  could  not  be  taught  them, — the  person 
of  the  Messiah,  the  true  nature  of  His  Kingdom,  the 
meaning  of  the  cross,  the  mission  of  the  Comforter,  the 
purpose  and  significance  of  the  sacraments,  the  charac- 
ter of  their  own  future  work.  Concerning  some  of 
these  we  are  explicitly  told  that  they  were  subjects 
upon  which  Jesus  discoursed  after  His  resurrection 
(Luke  24:27,  44-49;  Matt.  28:18-20;  John  20:21- 
23;  Acts  1:3-8);  concerning  others  we  may  be  sure 
He  would  not  leave  His  disciples  in  ignorance  when 
they  had  need  to  know  and  ability  to  comprehend. 
There  were,  of  course,  questions  of  idle  curiosity  which 
should  not  be  answered.  And  there  was  much  that 
only  future  experience  in  mission  work  and  future 
growth  into  the  mind  of  the  Master  could  make  plain. 
With  the  divine  teacher,  even  as  with  human  teachers, 
the  limitations  of  the  pupil  form  the  limitations  of  the 
pedagogue.  E'evertheless,  these  precious  hours  of  in- 
tercourse must  have  been  profitable  beyond  measure  for 
those  to  whom  they  were  granted. 

Possibly  some  of  the  words  of  Jesus  spoken  after 
the  resurrection  have  been  preserved  among  sayings  as- 
signed to  His  public  ministry.  For  example,  portions 
of  the  instructions  to  the  Twelve,  recorded  by  Matthew 
as  having  been  given  when  He  sent  them  forth  for  a 
little,  independent  tour  in  Galilee  (10:  17  f.),  are  not 
at  all  appropriate  for  that  mission,  but  are  most  fitting 
for  the  final  sending  into  the  great  world ;  and  some  of 
the  words  concerning  the  sacramental  meal  would  be 
enigmatic  at  the  Last  Supper  but  full  of  meaning  when 
He  ate  and  drank  with  His  disciples  after  He  rose 
from  the  dead  (Acts  10:41).  But  for  the  main  part 
of  what  Jesus  now  taught,  we  turn  to  the  teachings  of 


DAYS  OF  PREPARATION  AND  PENTECOST  27 

the  apostles.  Their  work  was  not  to  invent  a  gospel, 
but  to  proclaim  the  one  their  Master  entrusted  to  them ; 
and  those  portions  of  it  that  were  not  given  in  the  days 
before  the  crucifixion,  must  have  been  gained  after- 
wards from  further  words  by  Jesus  as  well  as  from 
fresh  light  shed  by  the  Holy  Spirit  upon  His  former 
words.  Everything  indicates  that  the  disciples  on  the 
Day  of  Pentecost  were  prepared  to  place  before  their 
hearers  a  well  ordered  statement  of  Christian  faith  and 
practice,  not  so  full,  indeed,  as  it  became  later,  but 
more  than  what  the  Gospels  indicate  Jesus  had  taught 
them  before  His  death.  Where  could  they  gain  it  or 
how  could  they  develop  it  without  their  Great  Teacher  ? 
Sceptics  have  been  forced  to  admit  that  the  disciples 
really  believed  that  Jesus  had  risen  from  the  dead  and 
appeared  unto  them,  because  it  is  evident  that  without 
such  a  belief  there  never  would  have  been  a  sermon 
on  the  Day  of  Pentecost: — they  could  not  have  recov- 
ered so  promptly  and  fully  from  the  overwhelming  con- 
sternation and  despair  of  Good  Friday.  But  the 
favourite  sceptical  explanation  of  this  belief  is  that  it 
was  created  by  certain  visions,  real  or  fancied,  which 
brought  the  conviction  that  Jesus  had  triumphed  over 
death.  Such  an  explanation,  though  it  may  account 
for  the  confidence  with  which  the  sermon  at  Pentecost 
was  preached,  fails  wholly  to  account  for  the  contents 
of  that  sermon.  Paul,  the  trained  theologian,  needed 
months  of  meditation,  after  Jesus  appeared  to  him,  be- 
fore he  could  grasp  the  gospel  he  was  to  proclaim ;  how 
could  the  unlettered  Galilean  fishermen  do  this  in  only 
seven  crowded  weeks  ?  If  in  the  days  after  His  resur- 
rection Jesus  had  been  teaching  them  the  many  things 
He  had  yet  to  say  (John  16:  12),  the  answer  is  evi- 
dent.   Otherwise,  there  seems  to  be  no  sufficient  answer. 


28  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

2.    The  Birth  of  the  Church. 

When  Jesus  parted  from  His  disciples  on  Mt.  Olivet, 
they  returned  to  Jerusalem  with  great  joy  (Luke 
24:52).  They  could  rejoice  because  He  had  gone  to 
His  Father  (John  14:  28),  and  also  because  some  day 
He  would  surely  come  again  (Acts  1:  11).  Until  that 
day  they  were  ready  to  give  themselves,  with  all  the 
force  of  the  spiritual  life  He  had  imparted,  to  spread- 
ing the  faith  in  Him  which  was  the  inspiration  of  their 
whole  existence,  l^o  thought  of  their  own  feebleness 
and  ignorance  dismayed  them;  no  dread  of  sacrifice 
and  suffering  held  them  back.  Rather,  a  sense  of  the 
glory  of  their  high  calling  made  them  eager  to  enter 
upon  it.  The  program  of  their  future  work,  as  it 
shaped  itself  in  their  thought,  was  a  simple  one.  The 
Jews  must,  if  possible,  be  persuaded  to  accept  Jesus 
as  the  long  expected  Messiah.  This  was  the  immediate 
and  urgent  task.  Beyond  it  lay  a  world-wide  mission; 
but  the  hope  was  that  Israel  as  a  nation,  having  ac- 
cepted Christ,  would  become  the  missionary  to  all 
nations,  even  as  the  prophets  had  foretold.  The  Mes- 
sianic Kingdom  had  not  been  established  because  the 
Jews  were  not  prepared  to  receive  the  Messiah.  John 
the  Baptist  had  tried  to  prepare  them,  and  had  failed. 
Jesus  Himself  had  tried  and,  also,  had  failed.  Now 
His  disciples  were  to  try, — preaching  the  same  old  mes- 
sage of  repentance  from  sins  and  faith  in  Jesus  as  the 
Messiah,  but  with  the  new  tidings  of  His  cross  and  His 
triumph  over  death,  which  added  immensely  to  its 
power  and  to  which  especially  they  were  to  be  witnesses 
(1:8;  22).  When  the  people  were  ready  to  receive 
Him,  He  would  come  to  reign  over  them;  until  that 
time  He  must  wait  in  heaven  (3: 19  f.).    N"evertheless 


DAYS  OF  TREPARATION  AND  PENTECOST  29 

His  followers  would  not  be  left  as  orphans  (John 
14:18);  through  the  Holy  Spirit  whom  He  would 
send,  He  Himself  would  be  with  them,  giving  them 
power  and  guidance  in  their  work,  and  granting  unto 
them  a  foretaste  of  the  joys  of  His  Kingdom. 

If  the  disciples  were  to  otter  Jesus  as  Messiah  to 
their  countrymen,  the  place  to  begin  at  was  Jerusalem. 
There  was  where  Jesus  Himself  had  begun,  and  from 
which  the  preaching  of  John  the  Baptist  had  first 
called  forth  hearers  (John  2:  13  f.;  Matt.  3:5).  Ac- 
cordingly, before  His  ascension  Jesus  brought  the 
apostles  back  to  the  city,  and  charged  them  to  wait  the 
baptism  of  the  Holy  Spirit  and  to  begin  their  witness- 
bearing  there.  The  mother  and  brothers  of  Jesus  and 
the  band  of  faithful  women  who  had  been  His  follow- 
ers came  with  them;  and  enough  other  disciples  gath- 
ered to  make  the  whole  number  about  one  hundred  and 
twenty  (Acta  1 :  15),  if  not  more.  A  few  of  these  were 
residents  of  Jerusalem  or  Judea,  but  so  few  that  the 
term  Galileans  w^as  applied  to  the  whole  body  (2:Y). 
An  upper  chamber,  probably  where  the  Last  Supper 
was  eaterf  and  in  the  house  of  Mark,  served  as  an  abid- 
ing place  for  the  apostles  and  a  meeting-place  for  the 
others.  Grouped  thus  together,  sharing  one  common 
life  and  hope,  hidden  as  yet  from  the  world,  the  little 
band  of  believers  at  once  began  to  develop  a  real  unity. 
In  their  relation  to  Jesus  they  had  been  disciples;  in 
their  relation  to  one  another  they  now  became  brethren. 
There  was  no  need  of  a  membership  roll;  they  knew 
each  other  with  increasing  intimacy.  And  in  that 
upper  chamber  they  joined  with  one  accord  in  religious 
services,  such  as  the  worship  in  the  synagogue  sug- 
gested and  their  own  spiritual  needs  prompted.  Prayer 
was  the  chief  feature  of  these  meetings, — the  example 


30  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

of  their  Master  and  tlie  cravings  of  their  hearts  would 
make  it  so ;  but  naturally  there  was  eager  searching  of 
the  Old  Testament,  especially  of  the  psalms  and 
prophets,  for  teachings  about  the  Messiah  and  His 
Kingdom.  Jesus  had  laid  open  the  meaning  of  these 
scriptures  (Luke  24:  32,  45)  ;  and  in  the  coming  days 
they  were  to  be  a  source  of  guidance  and  confidence  to 
all  disciples,  and  a  strong  weapon  in  conflicts  with  un- 
believers. Also,  we  may  infer,  there  was  the  celebra- 
tion of  the  Lord's  Supper  in  connection  with  a  com- 
mon meal.  Such  was  the  practice  immediately  after 
Pentecost;  and  it  is  difficult  to  understand  how  the 
change  from  an  annual  celebration  of  this  sacrament 
at  Passover  time  to  a  daily  celebration  could  have  come 
about,  unless  Our  Lord  before  His  ascension  had 
taught  it  both  by  word  and,  as  the  record  hints,  by 
example  (Acts  1:4,  K.  V.  margin). 

The  apostasy  of  Judas  must  have  been  a  thing  of 
horror  to  the  other  apostles.  True,  they  themselves 
had  failed  their  Master  in  His  hour  of  darkness,  but 
through  a  lack  of  courage  for  which  there  was  some 
excuse  and  much  forgiveness.  Judas  had  sold  Him 
treacherously  and  heartlessly, — an  act  incredible,  were 
it  not  imdeniable.  And  if  one  so  highly  trusted  had 
fallen  so  low,  who  could  be  sure  of  even  his  own  loy- 
alty, or  ask  without  trepidation,  ^'  Lord,  is  it  I  ?  "  The 
departure  of  the  traitor  ^'  to  his  own  place ''  (1:  25) — 
significant  phrase! — ^left  a  vacancy  in  the  apostolic 
circle  which  they  felt  should  be  filled,  if  the  work  was 
to  be  earned  on  as  Jesus  had  planned.  Since  that  work 
was  primarily  to  bear  witness  to  the  resurrection 
(1:22),  a  necessary  qualification  for  it  was  a  pre- 
vious acquaintance  with  Jesus  ''  beginning  from  the 
baptism  of  John,''  i.e.,  from  the  Galilean  ministry  (cf. 


DAYS  OF  PREPARATION  AND  PENTECOST  31 

10:39-42).  Note  that  however  broad  we  make  the 
apostolic  task  of  witnessing  to  the  resurrection,  it  can- 
not include  church  government ;  the  apostles  were  lead- 
ers, of  course,  but  they  did  not  feel  themselves  to  be 
rulers. 

All  the  brethren  shared  in  this  matter  of  selecting  a 
successor  to  Judas,  but  Peter  with  characteristic  energy 
and  confidence  took  the  initiative.  Christ's  special  ap- 
pearance to  him  (Luke  24:  34;  I  Cor.  15:  5)  and  spe- 
cial commission  for  him  (John  21:  15  f.)  had  restored 
him  to  his  old  place  of  natural  leadership  among  his 
fellows.  Two  disciples  were  found  who  had  been  with 
Jesus  from  the  beginning,  though  their  names  do  not 
appear  in  the  gospel  narrative  (a  revelation  of  its  in- 
completeness) ;  and  with  prayer  to  Jesus  the  lot  was 
cast  that  decided  between  them  in  favour  of  Matthias. 
This  use  of  the  lot  has  been  unjustly  criticized  as 
mechanical  or  an  appeal  to  chance.  As  a  matter  of 
fact  the  brethren  had  reached  the  limit  of  their  ability 
when  they  selected  two  men  both  of  whom  fully  met 
the  outward  requirements;  the  choice  between  these 
two  could  be  made  only  by  Him  who  can  read  the 
heart.  And  that  they  believed  this  final  choice  was 
made  by  Jesus  Himself,  is  shown  not  only  in  the 
prayer  before  casting  the  lot,  but  also  in  the  fact  that 
Matthias  without  any  human  induction  or  consecration 
was  at  once  "  numbered  among  the  apostles.''  It  is 
well  to  note,  however,  that  though  the  use  of  the  lot  is 
frequent  in  the  Old  Testament,  there  is  no  other  in- 
stance of  it  in  the  N^ew.  Christian  men  have  rightly 
used  it  since,  but  only  on  rare  occasions  when  all  other 
means  of  intelligent  choice  were  lacking,  and  only  with 
unconditional  acceptance  of  its  decision  as  the  divine 
answer  to  a  prayer  for  guidance.      The  selection  of 


32  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

Judas'  successor  has  been  criticized,  also,  as  a  prema- 
ture action.  The  vacant  place  in  the  apostolate,  it  is 
said,  belonged  to  Paul,  as  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  we 
hear  no  more  of  Matthias.  But  Luke,  who  was  with 
Paul  so  much,  gives  no  hint  of  this;  and  if  Matthias 
never  again  is  mentioned  by  name,  neither  are  any 
others  of  the  Twelve  save  Peter,  James  and  John. 
Paul  was  an  apostle ;  but  we  feel  that  he  stood  outside 
the  Twelve, — a  new  leader  for  a  new  work. 

3.    The  Baptism  of  the  Church. 

Pentecost,  "the  fiftieth,"  is  so  named  because  it 
comes  on  the  fiftieth  day  after  the  second  day  of  the 
Passover.  If  the  Passover  this  year  began  on  Friday 
evening,  as  John's  account  indicates,  Pentecost  fell  on 
Simday;  and  the  events  of  the  day  would  be  among 
those  that  made  the  first  day  of  the  week  peculiarly 
"  the  Lord's  day."  The  feast  was  not  as  important  as 
the  Passover;  but  because  it  came  at  a  better  season 
for  travel  on  land  and  sea,  it  was  more  largely  attended 
by  those  who  lived  at  a  distance  from  Jerusalem.  The 
day  was  free  from  work,  and  was  observed  with  special 
offerings  and  services  in  the  temple  and  with  feasting 
at  the  homes. 

The  disciples  on  the  morning  of  Pentecost  "  were  all 
together  in  one  place,"  probably  in  the  upper  chamber, 
and  engaged  in  prayer  (cf.  1: 14),  when  suddenly  they 
experienced  the  fulfilment  of  their  Lord's  promise, 
"  Ye  shall  be  baptized  with  the  Holy  Ghost  not  many 
days  hence"  (1:5).  The  signs  preceding  this, — ^the 
sound  as  of  a  mighty  wind  and  the  tongues  of  fire 
above  each  head, — ^were  necessary  and  appropriate: — 
necessary  because  the  baptism  was  a  new  and  purely 
spiritual  experience  which  they  might  not  recognize 


DAYS  OF  PREPARATION  AND  PENTECOST  33 

unless  some  outward  indications  of  it  were  granted; 
appropriate  since  from  the  words  of  John  the  Baptist 
and  of  Jesus  they  had  learned  to  associate  the  Holy 
Spirit  with  the  fire  and  the  wind  (Luke  3:  17,  John 
3:8).  The  speaking  with  other  tongues,  which  was 
the  immediate  sequence  of  the  entrance  of  the  Holy 
Spirit,  has  given  rise  to  much  discussion, — more  than 
its  importance  deserves.  At  first  inspection  Luke's 
narrative  seems  to  imply  that  these  tongues  were  for- 
eign languages ;  in  which  case  the  gift  was  only  a  tem- 
porary one,  for  there  is  no  evidence  that  later  on  the 
apostles  had  any  supernatural  command  of  languages 
(cf.  Acts  14:  11).  But  the  speaking  with  tongues  that 
Paul  fully  describes  as  it  was  manifested  in  the  church 
at  Corinth,  is  evidently  the  well-known  and  not  un- 
usual phenomenon  of  ecstatic  utterance, — the  incoher- 
ent words  and  inarticulate  cries  of  overpowering  spir- 
itual excitement;  and  we  notice  that  Paul's  account 
agrees  with  this  of  Luke  in  that  scoffers  attribute  such 
utterances  to  madness  or  drunkenness  while  those  who 
listen  sympathetically  find  a  meaning  in  them  (I  Cor. 
14:23,  27;  Acts  2:13,  8).  Moreover,  sympathetic 
hearers  at  Pentecost  gained  no  special  message  from 
the  utterances,  which  seemed  to  them  a  voice  (2:6 
Greek)  rather  than  words,  and  were  aware  only  that 
the  disciples  were  declaring  "  the  wonderful  works  of 
God," — an  explanation  of  ecstatic  utterances  most 
natural  for  an  Oriental.  Each  hearer  did,  indeed, 
think  he  recognized  his  native  language,  but  this  was 
because  the  voice  spoke  to  the  heart  where  all  languages 
are  one.  Speaking  with  tongues  is  mentioned  in  Acts 
twice  later  on  as  an  indication  of  the  reception  of  the 
Holy  Spirit  (10:46;  19:6);  and  Paul  puts  it  with 
the  interpretation  of  tongues  in  his  list  of  spiritual 


34  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

gifts  (I  Cor.  12:  10)  ;  but  he  puts  it  at  tlie  very  bot- 
tom of  tbe  list,  and  declares,  "  In  the  church  I  had 
rather  speak  five  v^ords  with  mj  understanding  that  I 
might  instruct  others  also,  than  ten  thousand  words  in 
a  tongue"  (I  Cor.  14:19). 

As  we  meditate  upon  the  Pentecostal  baptism  we 
cannot  fail  to  recall  the  baptism  of  Jesus  by  John.  In 
many  ways  the  two  are  the  same ;  naturally  they  would 
be  so  since  the  church  is  another  body  of  Christ, — His 
reincarnation,  in  which  He  goes  forth  to  win  the 
world.  The  church  before  Pentecost  was  waiting  the 
summons  to  begin  its  appointed  work,  even  as  was 
Jesus  at  ITazareth.  The  baptism  of  the  Holy  Ghost  in 
both  instances  was  this  summons,  and  in  both  was  indi- 
cated by  outward  signs  appropriately  significant.  And 
as  Jesus  was  '^  anointed  with  the  Holy  Ghost  and  with 
power"  (Acts  10:  38),  so  the  anointing  with  the  Holy 
Ghost  brought  to  the  church  power, — ^power  for  wit- 
ness-bearing (1:8),  displayed  in  a  new  boldness  and 
confidence,  a  new  consciousness  of  divine  direction,  a 
new  imperative  of  duty,  a  new  and  holy  joy.  It  was 
the  church  as  a  whole  that  received  the  Holy  Spirit; 
though,  as  the  division  of  fire  into  separate  tongues 
indicates,  special  gifts  were  granted  to  individual  mem- 
bers ;  for  it  is  the  church  as  a  whole  that  constitutes  the 
body  of  Christ  (Eph.  4:  4  f.). 

When  the  voice  of  the  disciples  reached  passersby 
in  the  street,  it  at  once  drew  an  increasingly  large 
throng  who  marvelled  at  what  they  heard,  and  dis- 
cussed loudly  the  state  of  the  occupants  of  that  upper 
room.  Here  was  an  audience  and  an  opportunity 
which  Peter  was  prompt  to  use.  We  have  merely  an 
outline  of  his  speech,  enough  to  show  its  main  thought 
and  its  adaptation  to  the  hearers.     He  uses  the  Old 


DAYS  OF  PREPARATION  AND  PENTECOST  35 

Testament  to  clinch  all  his  arguments,  as  he  proceeds 
to  prove  that  this  outpouring  of  the  Holy  Spirit  is  the 
prelude  to  the  coming  of  the  Messianic  Age,  and  that 
Jesus, — crucified,  risen,  by  the  hand  of  God  exalted, 
and  pouring  forth  this  which  they  saw  and  heard, — is 
the  long  foretold  Messiah.  The  teaching  of  Peter  is 
taken  up  and  spread  abroad  by  his  companions,  all 
aflame  with  the  new  evangelistic  zeal;  and  the  fruit  of 
their  labour  is  three  thousand  converts.  The  account 
says  these  were  added  '^  in  that  day,"  which  probably 
means,  not  in  those  few  hours  of  the  day  of  the  feast, 
but  in  that  whole  first  Pentecostal  period.  Still,  if  we 
take  the  word  in  its  narrower  sense,  the  account  is  not 
incredible.  Pentecostal  experiences  within  our  own 
times  confirm  the  possibility  of  such  a  great  ingather- 
ing. There  were,  as  we  shall  see,  many  reasons  why 
the  Messianic  message  would  reach  the  hearts  of  these 
hearers;  and,  as  Jesus  had  promised,  the  preachers 
were  "  clothed  with  power  from  on  high "  (Luke 
24:49). 


n 

THE  GKOWTH  OF  THE  CHUKCH  IN 
JERUSALEM 

THE  converts  at  Pentecost  were  mostly  visitors 
to  the  feast  (2:  8-11)  ;  and  while  some  could 
remain  indefinitely  in  Jerusalem,  waiting 
the  return  of  the  Messiah,  the  majority  must  soon  re- 
turn home.  They  might  carry  to  their  Jewish  neigh- 
bours in  foreign  lands  what  they  had  grasped  of  the 
gospel, — which  was  little  more  than  that  Jesus,  the 
Messiah,  would  soon  come  again,  and  that  men  should 
forsake  their  sins  in  preparation  for  His  coming;  but 
they  could  win  few  to  accept  such  an  imperfect  mes- 
sage, and  would  themselves  soon  cease  to  feel  its  force. 
For  the  development  of  an  intelligent,  zealous  Chris- 
tian life  there  must  be  the  teaching  of  the  apostles  and 
the  fellowship  of  other  disciples;  and  these  at  present 
were  to  be  found  only  in  Jerusalem.  That  city,  there- 
fore, became  the  nursery  and  schoolroom  of  the  church. 
Luke,  following  his  usual  method,  first  gives  a  gen- 
eral outline  of  this  opening  period  of  the  church 
(2:4:1-47),  and  then  takes  it  up  more  in  detail 
(3:1-8:1).  How  long  it  was,  we  can  only  conjecture ; 
it  ended  with  the  martyrdom  of  Stephen,  but  some 
scholars  would  put  this  event  as  late  as  Pilate's  recall 
to  Pome  (36  a.d.),  while  others  would  put  it  as  early 
as  30  A.D.  Two  or  three  years  would  seem  enough  and 
not  too  much  for  all  its  events ;  so,  if  the  period  began 
in  29  A.D.,  we  may  reckon  that  it  ended  in  31  or  32  a.d. 


GROWTH  OF  THE  CHURCH  IN  JERUSALEM    37 

1.    The  Outward  Growth. 

The  growth  of  the  church  in  membership  at  first  was 
rapid.  Beginning  with  three  thousand  at  Pentecost 
(2:41),  there  was  daily  increase  (2:47),  the  number 
of  men  rose  soon  to  five  thousand  (4:4),  multitudes 
both  of  men  and  of  women  were  added  (5:  14),  Jeru- 
salem w^as  filled  with  the  teaching  (6:28),  disciples 
were  multiplied  exceedingly,  including  a  great  com- 
pany of  priests  (6:7).  Iso  wonder  the  brethren 
thought  that  all  the  people  would  soon  be  prepared  to 
welcome  the  Messiah,  so  that  His  return  could  take 
place  in  the  near  future,  especially  as  His  own  words 
had  created  the  impression  that  the  interval  of  separa- 
tion would  not  be  long.  Possibly  one  reason  why  they 
were  so  constantly  in  the  temple  during  this  period 
(2 :  46  ;  3  :  1 ;  5 :  12,  25,  42)  was  that,  like  Simeon  and 
Anna,  they  looked  for  His  first  manifestation  there 
(.Mai.  3:1). 

How  shall  we  account  for  such  rapid  growth?  We 
must  begin  by  realizing  that  the  acceptance  of  the  new 
teaching  was  not  felt  to  involve  any  break  with  the  old 
Jewish  faith  and  life.  Jesus  had  scandalized  the 
Pharisees  by  His  neglect  of  some  of  their  laws,  espe- 
cially their  rigourous  rules  of  Sunday  observance;  but 
He  had  sought,  not  to  destroy  but  to  fulfil  the  Law  and 
the  prophets.  And  His  followers  seemed  to  differ  from 
other  and  orthodox  Jews  simply  in  their  recognition 
of  Him  as  the  promised  Messiah.  Such  recognition 
was  not  difficult  now  that  the  stumbling-block  of  the 
cross  had  been  removed  by  the  glory  of  the  resurrec- 
tion and,  also,  by  the  discovery  that  His  death  was 
foretold  in  the  Scriptures  as  divinely  ordered.  True, 
the  Messianic  kingdom  had  not  been  established  acr 


38  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

cording  to  their  expectations,  but  the  belief  was  confi- 
dent that  it  would  be  thus  established  when  Jesus  re- 
turned. The  task  of  gaining  converts,  therefore,  was 
not  a  difficult  one;  and  the  apostles  applied  themselves 
to  it  with  unceasing  zeal  (5:42).  Their  preaching, 
like  that  of  John  the  Baptist,  was  with  great  power 
(4:  33),  both  because  of  their  earnestness  and  evident 
sincerity,  and  because  their  message, — the  Messiah  is 
at  hand,  prepare  to  receive  Him, — ^was  one  that  could 
not  but  thrill  every  Jewish  heart.  Invitation  and 
warning,  the  attractiveness  of  the  Messianic  promises, 
and  the  terror  of  "  Save  yourselves  from  this  crooked 
generation,''  were  mingled  in  their  addresses.  Such 
preachers  with  such  a  message  always  gain  a  hearing 
and  a  following. 

According  to  Luke  the  period  was  full  of  miracles 
(2:43;  5:12;  6:8;  4:30),  though  the  only  one  of 
which  he  gives  an  explicit  account  is  that  of  the  beggar 
at  the  Beautiful  Gate;  for  the  deaths  of  Ananias  and 
Sapphira  were  not  miraculous,  and  the  messenger  of 
the  Lord  who  released  the  apostles  from  prison  at  night 
(5:19)  may  have  been  a  fellow  Christian.  Shall  we 
accept  Luke's  record  ?  That  depends  upon  our  atti- 
tude towards  miracles  in  general,  which,  in  turn,  de- 
pends upon  our  conception  of  God  and  His  relations 
to  the  universe  and  man.  If  there  is  no  God,  or  if  He 
has  no  control  over  the  world,  or  if  He  takes  no  special 
interest  in  man,  or  if  man  has  need  of  nothing  more 
than  His  ordinary  operations  to  know  Him  and  love 
Him,  then  miracles  are  idle  or  impossible;  and  Luke 
was  weakly  credulous  in  accepting  the  report  of  them. 
But  if  there  is  the  God  whom  Jesus  claimed  to  know 
and  reveal,  and  if  certain  unusual  acts  on  His  part  are 
necessary  for  the  highest  welfare  of  His  children,  then 


GROWTH  OF  THE  CHURCH  IN  JERUSALEM    3D 

miracles  not  only  are  possible  but  are  a  natural  expres- 
sion of  a  Heavenly  Father's  love.  They  have  been 
brought  into  disrepute  by  treating  the  merely  marvel- 
lous as  miraculous;  they  have  been  cheapened  by  ex- 
pecting each  foolish  and  selfish  wish  to  be  gratified 
supernaturally ;  they  have  been  unduly  exalted  as  the 
main  proof  of  the  Christian  religion,  and  unjustly  de- 
cried as  the  product  of  ignorance  and  superstition:  yet 
still  they  remain  credible  and  precious  to  all  who  have 
learned  to  know  the  heart  of  God  through  the  Son  of 
His  love.  But  belief  in  miracles  does  not  involve  an 
unquestioning  acceptance  of  every  reputed  one ;  it  is 
our  right  and  duty  to  test  the  evidence  and  find,  if  pos- 
sible, a  natural  explanation, — bearing  in  mind,  how- 
ever, that  an  event  by  which  beholders  were  made  to 
recognize  God's  presence  and  operation  might  have  for 
them  the  value  of  a  miracle,  though  we  can  discover 
its  natural  cause. 

The  story  of  the  lame  man  who  begged  at  the  temple 
gate  (3:1  f.) — from  whomever  Luke  gained  it — ^bears 
evidence  in  the  vividness  and  minuteness  of  its  details 
that  it  came  from  an  eyewitness;  and  the  healing  in 
the  name  of  Jesus  was  a  miracle  for  Peter  and  the  be- 
holders, even  if  it  should  be  explained  to-day  as  the 
effect  of  mental  suggestion.  To  the  apostles  its  su- 
preme value  lay  in  its  confirmation  of  the  assurance 
that  Jesus  would  work  with  them  and  through  them. 
He  had  healed  by  a  word  in  the  old  days  when  they 
walked  with  Him;  now  in  His  name,  i.e.,  acting  as 
His  representatives,  they  could  do  the  same.  They 
needed  such  strengthening  of  their  faith  for  the  labours 
and  trials  before  them.  Indeed,  belief  in  the  constant 
presence  and  power  of  an  ever-living  Lord,  which  was 
the  very  nerve  of  apostolic  activities,  might  have  grown 


40  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

feeble  and  perished  in  the  heathen  darkness  had  it  not 
been  nourished  by  the  testimony  of  miracles.  But 
what  about  the  effect  of  miracles  upon  the  unconverted 
beholders?  This  one  awakened  wonder  and  amaze- 
ment, and  gained  an  audience  for  Peter;  yet  hearing 
the  word,  not  marvelling  at  the  miracle,  was  what 
caused  belief  (3:10;  4:4).  And  there  is  no  indica- 
tion that  at  any  later  time  the  miracles  were  of  special 
aid  in  winning  acceptance  of  the  gospel.  The  one  at 
Iconium  made  the  beholders  ready  for  the  moment  to 
worship  Paul  as  a  god,  but  did  not  restrain  them  a 
little  later  from  stoning  him  until  they  supposed  he 
was  dead  (14:  8  f.).  The  one  at  Paphos  overwhelmed 
an  imposter;  but  the  proconsul,  before  whom  it  was 
wrought,  believed  because  he  was  "  astonished  at  the 
teaching  of  the  Lord  "  (13 :  6  f.).  We  must  remember 
that  the  age  was  one  when  every  teacher  who  gave  him- 
self out  to  be  some  great  one  was  expected  to  work 
miracles;  and  their  power  to  convince  was  proportion- 
ately weakened.  A  man  who  for  other  reasons  believed, 
would  have  his  faith  increased  by  them;  but  a  man 
who  did  not  wish  to  believe,  would  remain  unconvinced. 
Is  not  the  same  true  even  in  this  age  of  greater  scien- 
tific knowledge? 

Another  cause  of  the  rapid  growth  of  the  church 
was  the  attractive  life  of  its  members.  Their  religious 
zeal  stirred  them  up  to  stricter  faithfulness  in  observ- 
ing all  the  ordinances  of  the  Jewish  Law,  thereby 
winning  for  themselves  the  approval  of  even  the  Phari- 
sees, those  censorious  guardians  of  the  Law.  And  their 
practice  of  the  precepts  of  Jesus  and  exhibition  of  His 
spirit  in  daily  living  gained  them  favour  with  all  the 
people  (2:47).  One  striking  manifestation  of  the 
new  law  and  life  of  love  was  in  their  own  circle.    Dur- 


GROWTH  OF  THE  CHURCH  IN  JERUSALEM     41 

ing  the  days  with  Jesus  His  disciples  had  lived  as  a 
family,  having  all  things  in  common;  and  now  that 
they  were  waiting  His  speedy  return  it  was  natural  for 
them  to  continue  the  same  way  of  living.  And  it  was 
also  necessary;  since  support  must  be  found,  both  for 
the  apostles  who  were  devoting  themselves  Avholly  to 
the  work  of  preaching  and  teaching,  and  for  those  con- 
verts whose  homes  were  in  foreign  lands  but  who  now 
remained  in  Jerusalem  to  welcome  Jesus  on  His  re- 
turn. Accordingly,  the  brethren  who  had  possessions 
sold  them  as  need  required,  and  put  the  proceeds  in  the 
common  purse  (2  :  45  ;  4:  32  f.).  Evidently  the  church 
began  its  social  life  with  an  experiment  in  commim- 
ism.  Yet  we  must  note  that  this  communism  was  not 
compulsory  (5:4);  nor  was  it  complete,  e.g.,  the 
mother  of  Mark  continued  to  hold  her  own  house 
(12:12);  and  probably  it  was  not  as  extensive  as 
Luke's  statement  suggests,  for  the  generosity  of  Bar- 
nabas in  selling  a  field  and  giving  the  proceeds  to  the 
apostles,  is  deemed  worthy  of  special  mention,  and 
seems  to  have  received  such  praise  as  to  create  envy  in 
the  hearts  of  Ananias  and  Sapphira  (4:  36  f.).  We  dis- 
cover no  traces  of  this  communism  elsewhere  than  in 
Jerusalem;  and  it  did  not  work  well  even  here.  Al- 
most at  the  outset  murmurings  arose  over  the  distribu- 
tion of  the  common  funds  (6:1);  and  the  Jerusalem 
church  ever  remained  poor  and  eager  to  receive  charity 
(Gal.  2 :  10 ;  Rom.  15  :  25  f.).  Whether  it  also  became 
filled  with  men  who  were  attracted  by  the  earthly  bread 
rather  than  the  heavenly,  we  cannot  say;  but  this 
danger  is  evident. 

2.    The  Inward  Development. 

Those  early  years  at  Jerusalem,  when  the  brethren 


42  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

lived  in  daily  and  closest  intercourse,  were  greatly 
effective  in  shaping  and  developing  the  inner  life  of 
the  church.  Eirst  of  all  was  the  growth  in  knowledge. 
The  converts,  having  been  received  into  full  member- 
ship with  little  knowledge  of  the  new  Way,  needed 
much  instruction  in  Christian  facts  and  doctrine.  The 
apostles  took  the  lead  in  giving  this,  since  they  had  been 
with  Jesus  and  could  tell  the  others  what  they  had 
learned  at  His  feet.  Absence  of  anything  like  Chris- 
tian Scriptures  made  their  "  ministry  of  the  word " 
specially  necessary;  and  the  importance  they  attached 
to  it  is  shown  by  their  refusal  to  be  drawn  away  into 
administrative  work  (6:2).  They  would  constantly 
be  asked  to  tell  the  story  of  Jesus'  life,  which  few  of 
the  believers  knew;  and  thus  it  was  that  during  this 
period  there  came  into  existence  what  scholars  call  the 
Oral  Gospel,  i.e.,  the  form  of  the  gospel  narrative  that 
lies  behind  our  first  written  Gospel.  Such  increasing 
acquaintance  with  the  earthly  years  of  Jesus  would 
work  a  great  change  in  the  infant  church;  for  the 
gospel  story  has  transforming  power  in  hearts  that  re- 
ceive it  gladly.  Also,  those  who  pondered  upon  the 
teachings  of  Jesus  would  be  guided  by  the  Holy  Spirit 
(John  16 :  13)  into  further  truths  which  are  to  His 
teachings  what  the  fruit  is  to  the  seed. 

One  inevitable  though  gradual  result  of  progress  in 
knowledge  would  be  the  recognition  that  Christianity 
is  not  merely  a  form  of  Judaism  but  something  new 
and  different.  Though  the  fact  was  not  willingly  ac- 
cepted by  men  who  had  been  taught  that  the  Law  and 
the  prophets  are  the  full  and  final  word  of  God,  it  was 
forced  upon  them  in  many  ways.  The  popular  idea  of 
the  Kingdom  of  God, — earthly,  political,  sensuous, 
selfish, — did    not    harmonize    with    the    teachings    of 


GROWTH  OF  THE  CHURCH  IN  JERUSALEM     43 

Jesus,  and  could  not  be  imagined  with  Him  as  its 
ruler.  And  as  believers  meditated  upon  His  nature 
and  mission,  it  became  increasingly  clear  that  He  was 
far  more  than  a  Jewish  Messiah.  Also,  the  old  dis- 
tinctions which  made  Judeans  consider  themselves  bet- 
ter than  Galileans,  and  both  unite  in  looking  down 
upon  their  brethren  living  outside  the  Holy  Land,  and 
all  alike  abhor  the  Gentiles, — distinctions  which  had 
been  carried  over  into  the  church  (G:l), — could  not 
be  maintained  if  believers  were  really  brethren  in  one 
divine  family.  As  for  the  Jewish  law,  the  keeping  of 
which  was  held  to  be  the  chief  end  of  man,  Jesus  Him- 
self had  subordinated  it  to  the  higher  law  of  mercy  and 
love;  and  from  His  example  quite  as  much  as  from 
His  teachings,  the  disciples  were  learning  that  life  is 
higher  and  more  imperative  than  legalism.  All  this 
was  leading  them  on  to  a  broader  and  truer  conception 
of  Christianity,  which  some  day  must  force  a  separa- 
tion from  Judaism.  At  present  they  were  trying  to 
keep  the  new  wine  in  the  old  wineskins;  and  the  rup- 
ture, as  we  shall  see,  did  not  come  until  the  preaching 
of  Stephen  forced  it.  Had  it  come  earlier,  or  had 
Jesus  Himself  taught  the  disciples  to  throw  off  Jewish 
forms,  the  church  must  speedily  have  perished  through 
hatred  and  persecution. 

Another  natural  and  inevitable  development  of  the 
church  was  in  its  organization.  The  choice  of  the 
Seven  (6:1-6)  illustrates  how  this  would  be  brought 
about.  In  all  Oriental  lands  the  woman  who  has  lost 
her  husband  and  has  no  son  or  brother  to  care  for  her, 
is  a  helpless  subject  for  charity.  There  had  come  to  be 
among  the  church  members  a  group  of  such  women, 
perhaps  forming  a  special  body  (cf.  9:39;  I  Tim. 
6:3),  who  received  their  food  at  the  daily  common 


44  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

meal;  and  the  Hellenists,  i.e.,  the  Jewish  brethren 
from  foreign  lands,  complained  that  their  widows  did 
not  receive  as  generous  treatment  as  those  of  the 
Hebrews, — the  brethren  belonging  in  Palestine.  Pos- 
sibly the  complaint  was  not  well-founded;  but  evi- 
dently funds  were  not  coming  in  as  rapidly  as  appli- 
cants for  them,  and  the  daily  ministration  must  be 
more  carefully  supervised.  Following  the  recommenda- 
tion of  the  apostles,  the  whole  church  selected  seven 
men  of  reputation,  spirituality  and  practical  wisdom; 
and  they  were  appointed  to  this  new  work  with  prayer 
and  laying  on  of  hands  by  the  apostles.  Because  they 
were  to  "  serve  tables  "  we  usually  call  them  deacons 
(serving  men),  though  there  is  no  evidence  that  they 
were  directly  connected  with  the  deacons  of  the  later 
organization  of  the  church  (I  Tim.  3:8  f.),  or  that 
their  office  continued  after  the  end  of  this  period.  But 
here  is  an  excellent  example  of  how  the  regular  church 
offices  were  created  later  on : — a  new  need  demands  at- 
tention; the  right  man  is  found  for  it,  and  set  apart; 
and  the  beneficial  results,  as  in  this  instance  (6:7), 
are  sufficient  proof  that  the  office  is  of  divine  appoint- 
ment. 

Church  worship,  too,  must  have  been  in  process  of 
steady  development.  The  daily  meetings  of  the  breth- 
ren for  "  the  breaking  of  bread  and  the  prayers,"  at 
first  might  be  most  informal,  but  as  the  days  went  by 
would  take  on  a  prescribed  form.  The  synagogue  ser- 
vice, still  dear  to  all  these  brethren,  consisted  of  prayer, 
singing  of  psalms,  reading  from  the  Scriptures,  teach- 
ing and  something  like  the  recital  of  a  creed  and  a 
benediction.  Naturally  all  these  except  the  creed 
would  be  reproduced  at  the  gathering  of  Christians  for 
worship.     And  in  addition  there  would  be,  as  special 


GROWTH  OF  THE  CHURCH  IN  JERUSALEM     45 

features,  reminiscences  of  what  Jesus  did  and  said, — 
told  by  those  who  had  known  Him  in  His  public  min- 
istry, and  listened  to  with  keenest  interest  by  those 
who  had  not, — and  the  celebration  of  the  Lord's  Sup- 
per in  connection  with  the  common  meal.  Later  on, 
this  common  meal  was  separated  from  the  rest  because 
it  gave  rise  to  disorders  such  as  marred  the  worship  at 
Corinth  (I  Cor.  11:  20  f.)  ;  but  the  other  parts  of  the 
service  remain  in  the  Christian  church  to  this  day  with 
no  essential  change. 

The  characteristic  feature  of  these  opening  years  was 
a  holy  joy,  which  no  sufferings  could  disturb  (2:46; 
5:41),  and  which  arose  from  assurance  of  a  place  in 
the  Kingdom  of  God  with  its  present  privileges  and 
future  blessings.  Mingled  with  this  was  a  feeling  of 
awe  (2:43;  5:11)  caused  by  recognition  of  the 
presence  of  God  and  the  operations  of  the  Holy  Spirit 
And  each  believer  felt  himself  entrusted  with  a  divine 
commission  of  immeasurable  importance.  "  At  no 
time  in  its  history  has  the  church  been  possessed  with 
so  lofty  a  sense  of  its  calling  as  in  those  days  of  small 
beginnings.  It  held  the  belief  that  the  world  was  face 
to  face  with  a  mighty  crisis  in  which  the  whole  present 
order  of  things  would  come  to  an  end,  and  a  new  age 
set  in.  The  people  of  Christ  were  to  reign  with  Him 
in  this  new  age,  *  *  *  already  they  belonged  to  the 
new  order,  and  had  their  share  in  the  powers  and  priv- 
ileges of  the  Kingdom  of  God"  (Scott). 

3.     The  First  Testings. 

It  may  seem  strange  that  the  rulers  who  had  put  to 
death  the  Shepherd  should  leave  the  sheep  unharmed. 
But  the  very  fact  that  Jesus  was  dead,  caused  them  to 
let  His  disciples  alone;  without  their  prophet,  it  was 


46  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

believed,  these  Galileans  would  soon  lose  heart.  Mean- 
while they  were  peaceful,  popular,  strict  in  religious 
observances;  and  their  peculiar  doctrines  did  not  seem 
inconsistent  with  good  Judaism.  Little  hostility  would 
arise  so  long  as  the  Christians  were  not  too  numerous 
nor  too  prominent.  JSTevertheless,  there  was  constant 
possibility  of  collisions  which  might  bring  on  serious 
conflicts. 

The  first  opposition  came  from  the  chief  priests. 
These,  as  Luke  notes  (5: 17),  were  of  the  sect  of  Sad- 
ducees, — a  sect  that  seems  to  us  more  like  a  political 
party,  for  it  had  little  interest  in  Judaism  except  in 
the  temple  worship  as  a  source  of  great  income  to  the 
chief  priests ;  it  scoffed  at  the  fervour  of  the  Pharisees 
r.nd  their  doctrine  of  a  future  life;  and  it  aimed  by 
every  means  to  keep  in  favour  with  the  Romans. 
When  Peter  healed  the  lame  man  at  the  Beautiful 
Gate  and  preached  in  Solomon's  porch  his  second  re- 
corded sermon,  these  chief  priests  had  the  captain  of 
the  temple  take  him  and  his  companion,  John,  into 
custody,  and  on  the  morrow  bring  them  before  the  San- 
hedrin.  Luke  says  they  were  roused  to  this  action  be- 
cause the  apostles  "  taught  the  people  and  proclaimed 
in  Jesus  the  resurrection  from  the  dead  ''  (4:2).  This 
does  not  set  forth  the  reason  adequately.  What  the 
Sadducees  ever  feared  and  sought  to  suppress  was  any 
popular  movement  that  might  disturb  their  harmony 
with  the  Eomans,  and  result  in  the  loss  of  wealth  and 
position;  their  attitude  towards  Jesus  illustrates  this 
(John  11:48).  That  the  apostles  should  teach  the 
people  was  unobjectionable,  though  that  ^^  ignorant  and 
unlearned  men"  (i.e.,  men  not  taught  by  the  rabbis 
and  holding  no  official  position)  should  presume  to  teach 
was  marvellous  (4:  13)  ;  and  that  the  apostles  should 


GROWTH  OF  THE  CHURCH  IN  JERUSALEM     47 

teach  the  resurrection  as  a  doctrine  was  no  more  than 
what  the  Pharisees  were  ever  doing,  while  the  Sad- 
ducees  simply  laughed  at  them.  But  proclaiming  in 
Jesus  a  Messiah  risen  from  the  dead  and  soon  to  come 
again,  was  incendiary ;  it  might  stir  up  an  insurrection 
against  the  Romans,  or  bring  down  popular  wrath  upon 
the  heads  of  those  who  had  taken  the  lead  in  the  cruci- 
fixion (5:28).  The  Sadducees  wanted  it  severely 
punished;  but  they  could  not  secure  the  adoption  of 
harsh  measures  because  the  miracle  was  undeniable, 
and  the  Pharisees,  who  dominated  the  Sanhedrin,  were 
not  willing  to  move  against  these  preachers,  and — 
chiefest  of  obstacles — the  people  were  on  their  side 
(4:  14,  21;  5:  26).  All  that  the  Sanhedrin  did  when 
Peter  and  John  were  brought  before  it,  was  to  order 
that  teaching  and  preaching  in  the  name  of  Jesus  must 
cease.  This  order  the  apostles  boldly  disregarded, — 
no  human  authority  might  overrule  the  divine.  And 
their  decision  to  obey  God,  even  at  the  risk  of  the 
wrath  of  rulers,  brought  them  a  new  influx  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  which  gave  new  power  to  their  witness-bearing 
(4:31,  33). 

A  second  time  the  Sadducees  were  roused;  and  now 
all  the  apostles  were  thrown  into  prison ;  but  by  an  aid 
recognized  as  divinely  given,  they  were  released  at 
night,  and  at  daybreak  were  back  in  the  temple-porch 
teaching  the  people  again  (5:  17  f.).  Brought  before 
the  Sanhedrin  once  more,  their  fearless  accusations 
made  the  Sadducees  eager  to  slay  them;  but  Gamaliel, 
speaking  for  the  Pharisees,  recommended  a  laissez- 
faire  policy;  and  as  a  compromise  they  were  let  off 
with  a  beating,  which  the  previous  disobedience  seemed 
to  deserve,  and  with  a  fresh  command  to  refrain  from 
preaching,    which    again    they    proceeded    to    disobey. 


48  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

Though  the  advice  of  Gamaliel  was  favourable  to  the 
church,  it  cannot  be  commended;  the  duty  of  the  San- 
hedrin  was  to  accept  or  else  reject  the  gospel  set  before 
them;  indeed,  as  they  found  later,  it  could  not  be  let 
alone. 

After  the  failure  of  these  two  attempts  to  silence  the 
apostles,  their  work  seems  to  have  gone  forward  for  a 
season  without  opposition  and  with  increasing  success 
(5:  41;  6:7).  The  attacks  upon  it  by  the  Sadducees, 
who  were  not  popular,  would  be  a  recommendation  of 
it  to  most  of  the  Jews.  But  while  enemies  without  the 
church  were  striving  vainly  to  check  its  growth,  more 
subtle  enemies  within  were  threatening  its  spiritual 
life.  That  life  demanded  constant  recognition  of  the 
Holy  Spirit  and  obedience  to  His  promptings;  and 
these  high  requirements  were  as  yet  imperfectly 
realized;  the  very  existence  of  the  Holy  Spirit  was  a 
new  teaching  (cf.  19:2).  Two  prominent  members 
of  the  church,  Ananias  and  Sapphira,  thought  they 
could  succeed  without  detection  in  an  attempt  to  serve 
both  God  and  mammon,  and  might  gain  the  credit  of 
complete  consecration  at  the  cost  of  a  lie  to  the  apos- 
tles. Envious  of  the  reputation  Barnabas  had  won  by 
his  generosity,  they  too  sold  a  field  and  brought  the 
money  to  the  apostles, — but  only  a  part  of  it,  though 
they  professed  to  bring  the  whole.  The  deceit  was 
quickly  discovered,  and  was  denounced  by  Peter 
sternly  as  a  lie  to  the  Holy  Spirit  and  not  merely  to 
men.  In  this  day  of  beginnings,  when  the  dispensa- 
tion of  the  Spirit  was  still  new  to  all,  there  must  be 
no  relaxing  of  ethics,  and  no  encouragement  to  believe 
that  emotion  may  serve  as  a  substitute  for  holiness. 
The  words  of  Peter  were  given  terrible  emphasis  by 
the  immediate  death  of  the  guilty  pair,  in  which — 


GROWTH  OF  THE  CHURCH  IN  JERUSALEM     49 

whatever  its  natural  cause — the  church  recognized  a 
divine  endorsement  of  the  apostle's  utterance.  It 
caused  a  searching  of  every  heart,  a  fear  which  puri- 
fied the  church  from  hypocrites,  an  increase  of  rever- 
ence for  the  apostles,  and  a  greater  manifestation  of 
the  power  of  God  working  through  them  (5:  11  f.). 

4.  The  Martyrdom  of  Stephen. 

The  period  of  peace  could  not  continue  indefinitely. 
The  Pharisees,  who  were  leaders  of  the  people  and 
guardians  of  the  Law,  would  be  roused  by  the  rapid 
increase  of  the  Christians,  and  begin  to  fear  that  the 
apostles  might  presently  have  more  power  than  them- 
selves. Also,  they  would  have  good  gTounds  for  sus- 
pecting that  this  new  sect  was  something  other  than 
orthodox  Judaism.  Its  founder  had  been  condemned 
for  blasphemy ;  could  those  who  cherished  His 
memory  and  followed  His  teachings  be  true  sons  of 
Israel  ?  The  present  leaders  were  Galilean  fishermen 
who  knew  not  the  Law;  what  right  had  they  to  teach, 
and  could  they  be  safe  guides  ?  These  daily  meetings 
for  worship,  why  were  they  held  apart  from  the  syna- 
gogue and  the  temple?  This  putting  a  proselyte  into 
prominence  (6:  5),  was  this  the  spirit  of  strict  Juda- 
ism ?  How  far  the  brethren  themselves  recognized  that 
they  were  slowly  but  steadily  growing  away  from  the 
faith  of  their  childhood,  we  cannot  tell.  That  they 
must  become  separate  or  else  ultimately  be  lost  in 
Judaism,  is  clear  to  us;  but  reared  as  they  had  been 
under  the  Law,  and  proud  of  their  privileges  as  Jews, 
it  was  difficult  for  them  to  see  this. 

Stephen,  a  server  of  tables  and  not  an  apostle,  and 
probably  a  Hellenist  and  not  a  Hebrew,  was  the  first 
to  grasp  the  difference  between  Jewish  exclusiveness 


50  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

and  legalism  and  Cliristian  inclusiveness  and  liberty; 
yet  how  far  he  fully  apprehended  it,  we  are  puzzled 
to  say.  He  had  been  selected  as  leader  of  the  Seven 
because  he  was  ^'  a  man  full  of  faith  and  of  the  Holy 
Spirit,'^  and  had  proved  to  be  not  only  a  wise  adminis- 
trator but  also  an  able  and  convincing  preacher,  "  full 
of  grace  and  power."  There  were  in  Jerusalem  special 
synagogues  for  Jews  from  different  foreign  lands,  just 
as  in  our  large  cities  there  are  special  churches  for 
foreigners  of  various  nationalities.  And  in  these  syna- 
gogues (whether  the  text  indicates  one,  two  or  five,  is 
an  unsolved  and  unimportant  problem,  6:9)  Stephen 
defended  the  new  faith  so  ably  that  his  antagonists, 
beaten  in  argument,  spread  the  slander  that  he  spoke 
^^  blasphemous  words  against  Moses  and  God " ;  and 
when  he  was  arrested  and  brought  before  the  San- 
hedrin,  they  made  the  more  precise  accusation  that  he 
was  constantly  speaking  against  the  temple  and  the 
Law, — indeed,  that  they  had  heard  him  say  Jesus 
would  destroy  the  temple  and  change  the  customs  that 
Moses  had  handed  dovm.  The  witnesses  were  false, 
yet  doubtless  there  was  a  degree  of  truth  in  the  charge, 
even  as  in  the  similar  one  brought  against  Jesus  (Mk. 
14:58;  John  2:19).  Stephen's  words  had  been  dis- 
torted and  torn  from  their  context,  thus  making  a  half 
truth  which  is  ever  more  difficult  to  refute  than  an 
outright  lie. 

The  speech  of  Stephen  before  the  Sanhedrin  is  re- 
ported at  fuller  length  than  any  other  in  Acts.  Doubt- 
less Luke  got  his  account  from  Paul,  who  never  could 
forget  Stephen's  words  or  his  face  which,  as  he  burned 
with  the  flame  of  the  Spirit,  was  "  as  it  had  been  the 
face  of  an  angel."  The  speech  is  a  long  review  of 
Jewish  history  from  the  call  of  Abraham  to  the  build- 


GROWTH  OF  THE  CHURCH  IN  JERUSALEM     51 

ing  of  the  temple,  and  in  certain  details  it  follows  the 
popular  traditional  account  rather  than  the  Old  Testa- 
ment. But  just  what  was  Stephen  trying  to  show  in 
it?  Some  scholars  hold  that  he  was  setting  forth  the 
broader  Christianity,  as  Paul  did  later,  by  pointing 
out  that  God's  favour  is  not  confined  to  the  Jews  and 
Palestine  and  the  Law  and  the  temple.  But  such 
catholicity,  while  true  to  the  spirit  of  Jesus,  had  not 
yet  been  grasped  by  the  church,  and  even  in  Paul's  day 
was  abhorrent  to  the  Hebrew  Christians.  If  Stephen 
had  proclaimed  that  the  barriers  between  Jew  and 
Gentile  no  longer  existed  for  followers  of  Jesus,  he 
would  have  raised  a  storm  of  protest  in  the  church 
itself.  Other  scholars  see  in  the  speech  an  attempt  to 
prove  that  all  through  their  history  the  Jews  had  re- 
sisted the  Holy  Spirit,  even  as  they  did  when  dealing 
with  Jesus : — they  had  rejected  Moses,  they  had  turned 
from  the  tabernacle  to  the  golden  calf  and  the  host  of 
heaven,  and  they  had  emphasized  the  temple,  though 
they  had  been  taught  that  the  Most  High  dwelleth  not 
in  houses  made  with  hands.  This  would  not  be  a  direct 
answer  to  the  charges  against  Stephen,  but  it  is  an  in- 
direct answer;  and — what  was  of  more  importance  to 
him — it  gave  a  chance  to  preach  Jesus,  through  the 
parallelism  between  those  ancient  deeds  and  the  present 
treatment  of  the  Messiah  and  His  spiritual  lessons. 

The  speech  was  never  finished.  As  its  application 
became  cuttingly  close,  the  Sanhedrin  grew  wild  with 
rage;  and  when  Stephen,  rapt  in  spirit,  cried  that  he 
saw  Jesus  standing  at  the  right  hand  of  God,  they 
rushed  on  him  with  one  accord  and  dragged  him  away. 
He  had  uttered  blasphemy  in  the  hearing  of  all,  and 
should  be  stoned  to  death  outside  the  city  (Heb. 
13:13  f.).      The  law  that  a  death  sentence  must  be 


52  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

passed  by  a  procurator  was  disregarded;  there  was  no 
wish  to  throw  upon  the  Romans  the  responsibility  for 
this  death,  as  there  was  in  the  case  of  Jesus ;  and  Pilate 
was  now  finding  it  so  difficult  to  control  the  Jews  that 
he  would  prefer  to  ignore  this  act  of  their  leaders. 
Stephen  died  at  the;  hands  of  a  mob ;  and  yet — as  some- 
times in  the  action  of  mobs — the  prescribed  forms  of 
justice  were  not  wholly  abandoned;  the  witnesses  were 
made  to  cast  the  first  stones  (Deut.  13:  9).  And  the 
narrator  adds  one  item,  which  only  Paul  would  re- 
member, "  They  laid  down  their  garments  at  the  feet 
of  a  young  man  named  Saul."  As  they  stoned  Stephen 
he  sank  to  his  knees,  and  with  a  prayer  which  echoed 
that  of  Jesus  when  being  nailed  to  the  cross,  he  passed 
to  meet  the  Lord  whom  he  had  seen  risen  to  His  feet 
to  welcome  him.  Thus  the  church  received  its  first 
baptism  of  blood,  and  the  long  line  of  martyrs  began. 


ni 

THE  ENTRANCE  INTO  THE  LARGER  FIELD 

THE  church  had  been  so  comfortable  and  flour- 
ishing in  Jerusalem,  and  so  confident  that 
Jesus  would  soon  return  thither,  that  it  had 
undertaken  no  work  elsewhere.  True,  there  were 
Christians  in  Damascus  (0:2)  and  other  foreign 
cities  (2G:11), — men  who  had  returned  home  after 
accepting  the  gospel  at  Jerusalem ;  but  all  of  these  were 
Jews  or  proselytes  (the  door  had  not  yet  been  opened 
to  Gentiles)  ;  and,  lacking  knowledge  and  leadership, 
they  seem  to  have  made  little  effort  to  win  even  their 
Jewish  neighbours.  Though  the  apostles  had  been 
commanded  to  go  into  all  the  world  and  preach  the 
gospel,  beginning  from  Jerusalem,  they  showed  no 
desire  to  take  more  than  the  initial  step.  Possibly 
they  waited  for  Jesus  to  be  their  leader  on  His  return ; 
more  probably  they  felt  that  there  was  abundant  work 
at  home, — a  very  common  excuse  for  refusing  to 
undertake  foreign  missions.  Had  they  persisted  in 
staying  in  Jerusalem  and  succeeded  in  converting 
Palestine,  though  such  success  was  most  improbable, 
the  whole  later  history  of  Christianity  would  have  been 
changed.  There  would  have  been  no  disastrous  revolt 
against  the  Romans,  Jerusalem  would  have  remained 
the  dominant  city  of  Christendom  with  the  head  of  the 
church  residing  there,  the  temple  would  have  become 
the  most  sacred  Christian  sanctuary,  and  the  narrow 
Jewish  type  of  Christianitv  might  have  continued  in- 

53 


54  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGP] 

definitely.     There  was  need  that  the  church  should  be 
stirred  up  and  forced  to  enter  the  larger  field. 

1.    The  Scattering  by  Persecution. 

The  murder  of  Stephen  let  loose  immediately  all  the 
accumulated  hatred  against  the  Christians.  Saul 
seems  to  have  led  the  mob  on  that  same  day  from 
house  to  house,  dragging  the  terrified  inmates — women 
as  well  as  men — to  prison,  and  ravaging  the  church  as 
a  wild  boar  would  a  vineyard  (8:  3,  cf.  Ps.  80:  13). 
The  only  safety  for  those  assailed  was  in  flight  or  hid- 
ing. But  Luke's  statement  that  all  the  church  except 
the  apostles  were  scattered  abroad  must  not  be  taken 
too  literally.  Even  in  the  first  fury  of  the  storm  there 
were  strong  and  willing  friends  to  shelter  the  Chris- 
tians,— friends  like  the  devout  Jews  who  carried 
Stephen's  body  to  the  gTave  with  great  lamentation. 
The  Hellenists  had  begun  the  persecution  and,  with 
Saul  at  their  head,  would  direct  it  mainly  against  be- 
lievers whom  they  knew  personally,  i.e.,  against  the 
Hellenistic  Christians  who  worshipped  in  their  syna- 
gogues. These  would  flee  from  Jerusalem  to  their 
former  homes;  the  others,  hidden  by  friends  in  the 
city  or  near  at  hand,  would  wait  the  stilling  of  the 
tempest.  There  seem  to  have  been  other  martyrs 
(26:10);  but  the  madness  of  the  persecution  abated 
quickly,  as  such  sudden  outbursts  usually  do.  When 
Saul  had  departed  for  Damascus,  sober  second  thought 
and  the  counsel  of  such  men  as  Gamaliel  would  soon 
calm  the  others;  the  Roman  authorities  would  be  on 
guard  against  further  riot;  the  prisoners  would  be  re- 
leased with  little  punishment,  for  really  there  was  no 
charge  upon  which  to  hold  them;  and  life  would  re- 
sume its  normal  course.     Yet  it  never  again  could  be 


THE  ENTRANCE  INTO  THE  LARGER  FIELD     55 

quite  the  old  peaceful,  favoured  life.  Henceforth  the 
Christians  would  be  viewed  with  suspicion,  if  not  with 
hostility;  and  the  church  would  make  slower  progress 
in  the  Holy  City. 

In  many  ways  the  persecution  was  a  blessing  to  the 
church,  as  persecutions  often  prove  to  be.  It  purged 
out  fiilse  and  half-hearted  members;  it  ended  the  too 
comfortable  communistic  living;  and  it  spread  far  and 
wide  the  Christian  teaching  (8:4;  11:  19).  The  men 
who  were  forced  into  the  outer  world  were  earnest  in 
spirit  and  instructed  in  the  faith,  and  they  became 
good  missionaries.  Few  of  them  could  do  itinerant 
work, — they  had  families  and  must  establish  homes 
and  earn  their  daily  bread;  but  every  Christian  home 
was  a  witness  to  the  gospel,  and  every  group  of  such 
homes — for  believers  would  love  to  keep  together — 
formed  a  little  Chi-istian  community.  One  effect  of  the 
persecution,  however,  was  deplorable: — it  gave  the 
initial  impulse  towards  a  split  in  the  church.  The 
believers  who  belonged  to  Jerusalem  would  resume  life 
there  as  soon  as  it  was  safe  to  do  so;  the  rest  would 
remain  permanently  elsewhere.  Thus  the  Jerusalem 
church  was  henceforth  composed  almost  wholly  of 
Hebrews  who  clung  to  the  legalistic,  Jewish  form  of 
Christianity,  and  were  unable  to  sympathize  and 
scarcely  to  fellowship  with  their  Hellenistic  brethren 
who  made  their  homes  amid  the  influences  of  the  great 
Graeco-Roman  world.  We  shall  see  the  trouble  this 
caused  later  on.  And  yet  we  must  recognize  that  if 
the  Christians  in  Jerusalem  had  not  lived  in  obedience 
to  the  Law,  a  fresh  persecution  would  have  driven 
them  from  the  sacred  city  forever ;  and  this  would  have 
been  a  sad  loss  to  the  whole  church. 


56  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

2.  The  Jews  of  the  Dispersion. 

Most  of  the  Christians  who  fled  from  Jerusalem  re- 
mained among  their  countrymen  in  Samaria  and  Judea 
(8:1);  and  those  who  went  outside  the  Holy  Land 
offered  the  gospel  at  first  to  none  but  "  the  Dispersion  " 
(11:19),  i.e.,  to  those  Jews  who  lived  outside  of 
Palestine,  and  in  Acts  are  called  Hellenists  (Grecians) 
because  they  spoke  Greek.  The  majority  of  Jews  were 
now  of  this  number.  The  ancestors  of  some  had  never 
returned  from  the  exile,  of  others  had  been  carried  off 
by  later  conquerors  or  coaxed  to  leave  by  attractive 
offers  from  founders  of  cities  who  knew  that  Jews  make 
good  citizens.  They  were  to  be  found  all  around  the 
Mediterranean,  in  Mesopatamia  and  perhaps  farther 
East ;  indeed,  the  old  geographer,  Strabo,  says,  "  It  is 
not  easy  to  find  a  place  in  the  world  that  has  not  re- 
ceived this  race  ''  (cf.  Acts  15  :  21).  They  lived  mostly 
in  the  cities,  forming  distinct  communities,  and  enjoy- 
ing special  privileges  gained  in  various  ways.  With 
their  financial  genius  some  of  them  gained  great 
wealth,  and  with  their  native  ability  others  rose  to  posi- 
tions of  much  influence.  Though  Eome  put  Oriental 
religions  under  a  ban,  she  made  Judaism  an  exception, 
allowing  its  adherents  to  gain  proselytes  and  to  admin- 
ister their  sacred  Law,  which  was  at  once  a  religious, 
a  civil,  and  a  criminal  code.  This  explains  why  Saul 
could  be  given  authority  by  the  Sanhedrin  to  arrest  any 
Christian  Jews  in  Damascus  and  bring  them  to  Jeru- 
salem for  trial  (9:2),  and  why,  after  he  himself  be- 
came a  Christian,  he  could  be  -Q-ye  times  scourged  by 
Jewish  oflScialS'  (II  Cor.  11:  24),  though  other  officials 
would  not  dare  to  scourge  him  because  he  was  a  Eoman 
citizen  (Acts  22:  25).    The  Jews  did  not  have  to  wor- 


THE  ENTRANCE  INTO  THE  LARGER  FIELD     57 

ship  the  emperor,  though  mad  Caligula  once  tried  to 
make  them;  and  they  were  exempt  from  military  ser- 
vice, because  their  religion  forbade  them  to  fight  on  the 
Sabbath. 

We  have  already  remarked  that  the  Hellenists  were 
more  liberal  than  the  Hebrews.  Many  causes  com- 
bined to  broaden  their  religious  ideas: 

(a)  Since  the  most  zealous  and  narrow  Jews  re- 
fused to  live  elsewhere  than  in  the  Holy  Land,  the 
leaders  of  tlie  Dispersion  were  chosen  from  the  more 
tolerant ;  and  they  laid  less  stress  on  the  oral  law  which 
the  scribes  and  rabbis  of  Jerusalem  constantly  de- 
veloped and  deemed  even  more  important  than  the  Law 
recorded  in  the  Old  Testament. 

(b)  Dwelling  among  heathen  neighbours  they  found 
it  impossible  to  follow  out  minutely  all  the  many  regu- 
lations concerning  meats  and  drinks  and  sacrifices  and 
ceremonial  purity ;  so  they  came  to  recognize  the  spirit 
of  the  Law  as  more  important  than  the  letter. 

(c)  Because  they  could  visit  the  temple  only  at  long 
intervals,  the  synagogue  became  the  center  of  their  re- 
ligious life;  and  its  services  were  more  instructive  and 
elevating  than  the  sacrifices  at  Jerusalem.  A  syna- 
gogue or,  at  least,  "  a  place  of  prayer"  (16: 13)  was 
to  be  found  wherever  there  were  not  less  than  ten  pious 
male  Jews  with  leisure  to  carry  on  its  services. 

(d)  The  conceit  caused  by  provincialism,  which 
made  the  Hebrews  look  with  disdain  upon  the  intel- 
lectual life  of  other  nations,  was  not  as  great  in  the 
Hellenists.  Though  the  more  scrupulous  might  hold 
back  from  studying  Greek  literature,  they  could  not  but 
gain  some  Greek  culture  by  daily  contact  with  a  world 
full  of  it;  and  in  Greek  thought  they  found  much  that 
influenced  their  interpretation  of  the  Old  Testament, 


58  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

and  expanded  their  views  of  life  and  duty.  We  may 
Slim  up  the  effect  of  all  these  causes  by  saying  that  the 
Jew  of  the  Dispersion  differed  from  the  Jew  of  Jeru- 
salem somewhat  as  the  man  who  spends  his  life  in  a 
great  metropolis  differs  from  his  brother  who  has  never 
left  the  secluded  mountain  hamlet  which  was  their 
common  home  in  childhood. 

When  among  Gentile  neighbours  the  Jew  had  an  un- 
fortunate knack  of  incurring  dislike,  caused  in  part  by 
envy  of  his  successful  rivalry.  He  was  ridiculed  for 
the  peculiarities  of  his  religion,  especially  for  Sabbath- 
keeping,  rejection  of  idols,  and  refusal  to  eat  pork; 
and  he  was  slandered  and  hated  because  he  persisted  in 
standing  aloof  from  the  rest  of  mankind.  Neverthe- 
less, in  an  age  when  thoughtful  men  were  turning  with 
increasing  disgust  from  the  sensuality  and  superstition 
of  heathen  cults,  there  was  much  to  attract  them  to 
the  Jewish  religion.  It  set  forth  one  God,  supreme, 
spiritual,  holy,  whose  worship  is  free  from  immoral- 
ity; it  promised  forgiveness  of  sins  here  and  eternal 
life  hereafter;  it  had  a  high  standard  of  ethics,  an 
admirable  home  life,  and  an  honourable  position  for 
woman.  And  the  Jew  cordially  welcomed  those  who 
were  drawn  to  it.  They  might  read  his  Scriptures 
which  had  been  translated  into  Greek  (the  Septua- 
gint)  ;  they  might  on  certain  conditions  attend  the  ser- 
vices in  his  synagogue ;  and,  if  willing  to  take  the  step, 
they  might  be  received  into  the  Jewish  fold.  Some 
were  willing;  and  after  submitting  to  baptism  and 
circumcision  and  offering  a  sacrifice,  they  were  placed 
upon  nearly,  though  not  quite,  the  same  footing  as 
native-born  Jews.  In  Acts  these  converts  are  called 
"  proselytes  "  (2  :  10  ;  6  :  5).  A  much  larger  number 
of  Gentiles  accepted  the  great  truths  of  the  Jewish  r^- 


THE  ENTRANCE  INTO  THE  LARGER  FIELD     50 

ligion,  but  refused  to  take  on  the  bondage  of  the  Law 
with  its  constant  restraints  and  inevitable  isolation. 
In  Acts  these  are  called  ''  the  devout ''  or  "  those  that 
fear  God  "  (10 :  2  ;  17 :  17).  They  loved  to  attend  the 
synagogue  and  mingle  with  Jewish  friends;  and  they 
were  allowed  to  do  this  if  in  turn  they  abstained  from 
certain  foods  and  practices  that  were  abhorrent  to  Jews. 
Probably  the  restrictions  were  practically  the  same  as 
those  laid  down  in  the  Old  Testament  for  the  stranger 
who  sojourned  among  the  children  of  Israel  (Lev. 
XVII-XVIII).  It  was  among  these  God-fearing  Gen- 
tiles that  Christianity,  as  it  freed  itself  from  Judaism, 
found  its  most  receptive  hearers,  since  it  offered  all 
that  had  drawn  them  towards  the  Jewish  religion  with- 
out the  restraints  that  had  repelled. 

3.     The  Gospel  in  Samaria. 

The  Samaritans  sprang  from  a  mingling  of  heathen 
colonists  with  the  remnant  of  the  Ten  Tribes  left  in 
Samaria  after  the  overthrow  of  Israel  in  721  B.C.  (II 
Kings  17:24  f.).  They  accepted  the  Pentateuch  hut 
not  the  rest  of  the  Old  Testament;  they  kept  the 
Law, — very  imperfectly,  the  Jews  thought;  they  had 
a  temple  on  Mt.  Gerizim  until  the  Jews  destroyed  it 
in  128  B.C. ;  and  they  were  looking  for  the  Messiah, 
though  with  expectations  less  political  than  those  of 
the  Jews.  Between  the  Samaritans  and  the  Jews  was 
a  long-continued  strife  which  had  all  the  bitterness  of 
a  family  quarrel;  yet  prejudice  against  work  in 
Samaria  would  not  be  as  great  as  against  work  in  a 
land  of  the  uncircumcised,  and  Jesus  had  expressly 
commanded  it  (1:8). 

Philip,  one  of  the  Seven  and  known  later  as  ^^  the 
evangelist"  (21:  8),  was  the  pioneer  missionary  to  the 


60  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

Samaritans.  Fleeing  from  the  persecution,  lie  went 
down  from  Jerusalem  to  tlie  capital  city,  Sebaste,  and 
there  preached  Christ  (8:5);  and  his  message,  accom- 
panied with  acts  of  healing,  was  received  with  much 
joy,  and  bore  fruit  in  the  baptism  of  a  large  number  of 
men  and  women.  When  news  of  this  work  in  Samaria 
reached  the  apostles  at  Jerusalem,  they  were  deeply  in- 
terested, because  it  was  the  entrance  of  the  gospel  into 
a  new  and  only  semi- Jewish  field;  and  they  sent  Peter 
and  John  to  get  into  touch  with  it.  Eor  the  leaders  of 
the  church  to  do  this,  was  a  simple  and  most  natural 
act;  to  construe  it  as  a  formal,  episcopal  visitation  is 
to  put  the  clothes  of  a  man  upon  a  creeping  infant.  The 
coming  of  the  two  apostles  brought  a  further  blessing. 
Philip  had  preached  only  the  gospel  of  the  Kingdom 
of  God  and  Jesus  the  Messiah;  now  Peter  and  John 
gave  the  converts  instruction  about  the  Holy  Spirit, 
and  prayed  that  Ilis  gifts  might  be  granted  them.  And 
when  they  laid  their  hands  on  those  who  had  been  bap- 
tized, some  outward  sign,  probably  the  familiar  one  of 
speaking  with  tongues,  gave  assurance  that  the  prayer 
was  answered  (8:17).  Thus  the  infant  church  of 
Samaria  had  its  Pentecost,  and  took  its  place  beside 
the  church  in  Jerusalem  with  evident  divine  endorse- 
ment. 

Christianity  had  no  sooner  entered  the  outer  world 
than  it  encountered  in  Simon  Magus  a  representative 
of  one  of  its  gTcat  future  foes.  The  magi, — of  whom 
Elymas,  also,  was  one  (13:6), — must  not  be  lightly 
regarded  as  mere  imposters  like  our  modem  fortune- 
tellers; they  were  more  like  Cornelius  AgTippa  and 
other  famous  magicians  of  the  Middle  Ages,  or  like 
certain  sorcerers  in  heathen  lands  to-day.  They  were 
the  men  of  science  of  their  time  as  well  as  masters  of 


THE  ENTRANCE  INTO  THE  LARGER  FIELD     61 

black  art,  and  thej  had  gained  certain  secrets  of 
Nature  which  they  used  along  with  much  chicanery. 
Dealing  with  ignorant,  credulous  people  they  resorted 
to  an  inextricable  mixture  of  science  and  superstition, 
drugs,  herbs,  charms,  astrolog}^,  alchemy,  hypnotism, 
mental  suggestion  and  deliberate  imposture,  all  in- 
spired by  conceit  and  selfishness.  When  we  recall  how 
kings  as  well  as  common  people  even  in  recent  days 
have  believed  that  such  men  possess  more  than  mortal 
powers,  we  must  agree  with  Ramsay  that  the  magi 
"  represented  the  strongest  influence  upon  the  human 
will  that  existed  in  the  Roman  world,  an  influence 
which  must  destroy  or  be  destroyed  by  Christianity,  if 
the  latter  tried  to  conquer  the  Roman  world.'^  Simon 
was  doubtless  a  renegade  Jew ;  and,  if  we  are  to  judge 
from  his  claims  and  the  name  given  him,  ''  that  Power 
of  God  which  is  called  Great,"  he  had  accepted  some 
form  of  that  strange  and  multiform  mixture  of  mysti- 
cism and  perverted  theology  which  we  call  gnosticism, 
— another  future  foe  of  the  church.  The  preaching  of 
Philip  created  in  Simon  a  degree  of  belief  which  led 
him  to  be  baptized;  and  the  miracles  of  Philip  were 
so  much  beyond  his  own  magic  as  to  fill  him  with 
amazement.  But  it  was  the  mysterious  descent  of  the 
Holy  Spirit,  when  the  apostles  laid  on  their  hands,  that 
aroused  his  cupidity,  and  made  him  offer  to  purchase 
the  secret  for  his  own  use.  Here  was  a  sin  against  the 
Holy  Spirit  of  another  type  than  that  of  Ananias, — a 
grasping  after  spiritual  gifts  and  leadership  in  the 
church  to  gTatify  ambition  and  avarice.  The  scathing 
words  with  which  Peter  denounced  it  frightened 
Simon ;  but  though  he  was  urged  to  repent,  there  is  no 
hint  that  he  did,  and  later  legends  picture  him  as  a 
bitter    enemy    of    the    church    and    as    the    father    of 


62  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

heresies.  Indeed,  out  of  these  legends  came  the 
mediaeval  story  of  Faust,  the  man  who  sold  his  soul 
to  the  devil. 

4.    The  Eunuch  From  Ethiopia. 

Ethiopia  was  a  general  tei-m  for  the  region  south  of 
Egypt;  and  the  queens  who  ruled  in  Meroe,  above  tho 
second  cataract  of  the  Kile,  were  all  called  Candace, 
just  as  the  rulers  of  Egypt  were  all  called  Pharaoh. 
The  Jewish  religion  had  been  brought  to  Ethiopia  long 
before  this  time  (Jeremiah's  friend,  Ebed-Melech,  was 
an  Ethiopian  eunuch,  Jere.  38:  7  f.)  ;  and  the  present 
treasurer  of  the  queen,  a  man  of  great  authority,  was 
a  convert  to  it.  Being  a  eunuch  he  could  not  gain  ad- 
mission into  the  Jewish  fold  (Deut.  23:1);  but  he 
could  worship  at  the  temple  in  the  court  of  the  Gen- 
tiles, and  for  this  purpose  he  made  the  long  journey 
to  Jerusalem.  It  seems  probable  that  there  he  became 
acquainted  with  Christians;  for  on  his  way  home  he 
was  studying  the  passage  in  Isaiah  most  used  by  them 
to  teach  a  crucified  Messiah,  and  he  was  anxious  to 
know  who  was  described  in  it.  He  had  journeyed  as 
far  as  the  deserted  city.  Old  Gaza,  and  the  hour  was 
high  noon,  when  Philip  met  him  and  volunteered  the 
instruction  he  craved.  Taking  the  Scripture  passage  as 
a  text,  the  evangelist  preached  Jesus  with  such  con- 
vincing power  that,  when  they  came  to  a  pool  of  water, 
the  eunuch  put  the  question  "  What  doth  hinder  me  to 
he  baptized  ?  "  He  was  not  a  Jew,  and  he  could  not 
become  a  Jew: — these  for  the  brethren  at  Jerusalem 
were  hindrances  insurmountable.  But  Philip  had  seen 
the  Holy  Spirit  bestowed  upon  Samaritans,  and  knew 
that  the  Spirit  had  guided  him  to  this  man;  so  with- 
out hesitation  he  broke  through  the  barriers  and  bap- 


THE  ENTRANCE  INTO  THE  LARGER  FIELD     63 

tized  him;  and  the  eunuch  went  on  his  way  rejoicing. 
Just  how  much  of  the  supernatural  was  involved  in 
Philip's  coming  to  this  seeker  after  truth,  is  a  ques- 
tion hardly  worth  debating.  Angels,  i.e.,  messengers, 
of  the  Lord  and  promptings  of  the  Spirit  come  in  many 
ways  to  the  true  evangelist,  and  the  recognition  of  them 
as  such  is  made  clear  by  obedience;  but  certainly  noth- 
ing less  than  a  most  unusual  experience  could  make 
Philip  recognize  that  the  eunuch  might  be  baptized,  so 
unprecedented  was  the  act.  Indeed,  he  seems  to  have 
kept  what  he  had  done  a  sacred  secret  until  years  later, 
perhaps  until  Paul  and  Luke  were  his  guests  at  Cae- 
sarea  (21:8).  Tradition  very  naturally  makes  this 
eunuch  to  be  the  founder  of  the  Christian  church  in 
Abyssinia;  but  we  know  nothing  more  about  him,  and 
we  do  know  that  missionar}^  work  in  Ethiopia  was  not 
begun  until  the  fourth  century.  The  story  of  his  con- 
version and  baptism  furnishes  precedents  of  great  value 
to  present-day  mission  workers,  but  throws  little  light 
upon  the  history  of  the  church.  And  for  Philip  it  was 
merely  an  interlude  in  his  extended  work  among  the 
cities  of  Samaria  (8:40). 

5.    The  Case  of  Cornelius. 

Peter  and  John  not  only  had  assisted  Philip  in  his 
work  at  Sebaste  but  had  preached  in  many  villages  in 
Samaria  on  their  way  back  to  Jerusalem  (8:25). 
Such  interest  in  the  Samaritans  explains  why  presently 
we  find  Peter  visiting  the  churches  along  the  coast, 
founded  possibly  by  Philip  in  his  evangelistic  tour 
from  Azotus  to  Caesarea  (8 :  40).  At  Lydda  he  healed 
a  palsied  man,  Aeneas,  and  at  Joppa  he  raised  from 
her  death-bed  a  prominent  church  worker,  Tabitha, — 
two  miracles  closely  resembling  those  of  Jesus   (Mk. 


64  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

2 :  3  f. ;  5 :  35  f .)  and  producing  increase  of  faith  among 
believers  and  a  spread  of  the  church  in  those  regions. 
The  work  was  so  great  that  he  abode  in  Joppa  many 
days,  making  his  home  with  Simon,  a  tanner.  It  is 
often  pointed  out  that  since  the  tanner's  occupation 
involved  ceremonial  uncleanness  and  was  much  de- 
spised, Peter's  choice  of  lodgings  shows  that  he  was 
learning  to  disregard  Jewish  restrictions.  This  might 
be  true,  had  Peter  originally  been  a  Pharisee,  but  a 
Galilean  fisherman  would  not  be  scrupulous  about  his 
quarters  and  companions.  The  statement  that  this 
Simon  was  a  tanner  ser^^es  in  10 :  5-6  to  distinguish 
him  from  Simon  Peter  himself;  perhaps  that  is  all  it 
is  meant  to  do  in  9 :  43. 

All  this  time  Christian  work  was  slowly  spreading 
in  other  regions, — in  Galilee  (9:31),  Damascus 
(9: 10),  Phoenicia,  Cyprus  and  Antioch  (11:  19),  and 
probably  elsewhere  (26:11);  but  it  was  confined  to 
the  circumcised.  E'evertheless,  each  advance  made 
more  impossible  the  ignoring  of  the  question.  What,  if 
anything,  can  Gentiles  do  to  obtain  a  share  in  the  Mes- 
sianic blessings?  Upon  the  answer  depended  the 
future  of  Christianity, — whether  it  could  develop  into 
a  universal  religion  or  must  remain  an  insignificant 
Jewish  sect.  Luke  perceives  that  the  case  of  Cornelius 
contains  the  answer;  so  he  narrates  it  at  great  length. 
Here  at  Caesarea  is  a  Roman  centurion,  well-known 
and  highly  respected  (10:  22),  "a  devout  man  and  one 
that  feared  God,"  i.e.,  a  half-way  proselyte,  who  has 
not  only  accepted  the  great  truths  of  Judaism  himself 
but  has  won  over  to  them  his  household,  kinsmen  and 
near  friends  (10:2,  Y,  24).  He  has  gone  as  far  as 
Judaism  will  permit  unless  he  becomes  a  full  prose- 
lyte ;  will  Christianity  allow  him  to  go  further  ?    Prob- 


THE  ENTRANCE  INTO  THE  LARGER  FIELD     65 

ablj  Cornelius  had  heard  of  the  Christians  and  even 
of  Peter's  miracles  in  two  places  only  some  thirty  miles 
away;  possibly,  also,  Philip  was  now  preaching  in 
Caesarea.  But  Cornelius  would  be  prejudiced  against 
the  new  sect  by  what  he  learned  in  the  synagogue ;  and 
it  required  a  vision  to  make  him  send  for  the  apostle. 
Peter,  too,  was  full  of  prejudice,  wrought  into  him 
from  childhood,  against  all  Gentiles;  and  before  he 
would  go  to  Cornelius,  nothing  doubting,  he  likewise 
had  to  learn  by  a  vision  that  what  God  has  cleansed 
man  must  not  pronounce  unclean.  But  though  he  went 
without  doubting,  he  did  not  go  without  the  precaution 
of  taking  six  brethren  with  him  as  witnesses  of  what 
might  befall;  evidently  he  felt  that  the  step  he  was 
taking  was  an  important  one  which  might  bring  on  him 
grave  censure,  as  in  fact  it  did.  The  open-minded  wel- 
come of  Cornelius  and  the  story  of  his  vision  impressed 
Peter  most  favourably,  though  his  words  (10:34^5) 
cannot  be  construed  to  mean  that  godly  fear  and 
righteous  living  are  religion  enough  for  any  man — else 
why  did  he  at  once  proceed  to  tell  the  story  of  the 
cross  ?  What  he  recognized  was  that  the  grace  of  God 
is  not  confined  to  one  special  nation,  and,  therefore, 
the  gospel  may  be  preached  to  God-fearing  Gentiles  as 
well  as  to  Jews.  Peter's  discourse  to  the  group  gath- 
ered by  Cornelius  contains  a  full  story  of  the  life  of 
Jesus,  a  brief  allusion  to  the  prophets  (Cornelius 
would  know  these  from  the  synagogue  service  but 
would  not  regard  them  with  Jewish  reverence),  and  a 
promise  of  forgiveness  of  sins.  It  was  not  finished 
because,  at  this  point,  speaking  with  tongues  gave  evi- 
dence that  the  little  assembly  of  Gentiles  had  received 
the  gift  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  The  thought  of  the  apostle 
went  back  to  his  own  Day  of  Pentecost ;  and  with  such 


66  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

clear  indication  that  God  had  accepted  these  men,  he 
commanded  that  thej  be  baptized.  This  was  done  by 
the  brethren  who  came  with  him, — was  it  because 
Peter  wished  them  to  become  responsible  for  this  new 
church,  or  did  he — like  Paul  (I  Cor.  1 :  17) — feel  that 
baptism  was  a  work  for  laymen,  while  the  mission  of 
apostles  was  to  evangelize  ? 

A  report  of  what  had  taken  place  in  Caesarea  soon 
reached  Jerusalem ;  and  when  Peter  returned  he  found 
the  stricter  party  of  the  church,  ^'  they  that  were  of  the 
circumcision,"  waiting  to  censure  him;  but  after  hear- 
ing the  story  from  his  own  lips,  ^'  they  held  their  peace, 
and  glorified  God,"  saying,  "  Then  to  the  Gentiles  also 
hath  God  granted  repentance  unto  life"  (11:2,  18). 
l!^evertheless,  the  acquiescence  and  rejoicing  were 
superficial  and  transient;  no  work  among  the  Gentiles 
was  undertaken  by  the  Jerusalem  church ;  and  the  whole 
battle  over  admitting  the  uncircumcised  generally 
into  the  church  was  still  in  the  future,  when  we  shall 
find  Peter  himself  uncertain  which  side  to  take  in  it. 
The  general  feeling  now  must  have  been  that  the  case 
of  Cornelius  was  exceptional,  and  its  logical  implica- 
tions need  not  be  considered.  ISTo  one  could  foresee 
that  before  many  years  the  Gentile  Christians  would 
bid  fair  to  outnumber  the  Jewish ;  and  it  was  not  until 
they  did  begin  to  see  this,  that  the  party  of  circum- 
cision roused  to  a  protracted  struggle  against  granting 
to  Gentile  believers  freedom  from  the  obligations  of 
the  Law,  unrestricted  intercourse  with  themselves,  and 
a  place  of  equal  privilege  and  honour  in  the  Kingdom. 
In  other  words,  the  battle  was  yet  in  the  future,  and 
with  Paul  instead  of  Peter  as  leader  of  the  Gentile 
forces,  by  which  they  would  gain  liberty,  fraternity 
and  equality. 


IV 

THE  EAELY  LIFE  OE  PAUL 

I  IN"  tlie  group  of  apostles  Paul  stands  forth  as  the 
central  figure.  This  might  be  because  we  know 
most  about  him.  Several  of  his  letters  have  come 
down  to  us,  and  Luke  devotes  the  larger  half  of  Acts 
to  his  deeds;  while  little  of  the  journeys,  sufferings, 
and  achievements  of  the  other  apostles  has  been  re- 
corded, and  few  of  their  writings  remain.  But  Paul 
himself,  when  forced  to  boast,  declares  that  he  sur- 
passed all  the  rest  in  labours,  in  prisons,  in  stripes,  in 
deaths  (II  Cor.  11:23).  His  burning  zeal,  which 
showed  itself  when  he  persecuted  the  Christians  as  well 
as  when  he  preached  the  faith  of  which  he  once  made 
havoc  (Gal.  1:23),  would  kindle  self-reproach  if  any 
fellow-worker  outdid  him.  And  Paul  had  the  advan- 
tage of  education ;  his  was  the  highest  Jerusalem  could 
offer,  while  the  Twelve,  being  sons  of  humble  folk,  had 
been  restricted  to  what  the  simple  synagogue  schools 
provided.  Of  course,  this  advantage  should  not  be 
overestimated.  Apollos  was  equally  or  more  learned, 
but  did  not  approach  Paul  in  influence ;  and  Paul  tells 
us  that  his  ovni  speaking  and  message  "  were  not  in 
persuasive  words  of  wisdom  but  in  demonstration  of 
the  Spirit  and  of  power''  (I  Cor.  2:4).  E'evertheless, 
a  trained  mind  and  a  polished  wit  are  mighty  weapons 
when  consecrated  to  Christ.  Other  endowments  and 
acquirements  also  were  his,  as  we  shall  see  later,  that 
would  make  him  a  leader  wherever  he  might  be;  and 

67 


68  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

the  great  Gentile  world,  his  chosen  field,  gave  oppor- 
tunity for  successful  work  to  the  very  limit  of  his 
ability.  From  the  time  he  fairly  enters  it,  the  history 
of  the  Apostolic  Age  becomes  in  large  measure  the  his- 
tory of  the  Apostle  Paul. 

1.     The  Boy  in  Tarsus. 

Paul  was  born  in  Tarsus,  the  capital  of  Cilicia ;  and 
with  justifiable  pride  he  calls  himself  "  a  Tarsian '' 
(22:3)  and  his  birthplace  ''no  mean  city''  (21:39). 
Situated  on  the  main  highway  from  Rome  to  the  East, 
and  accessible  by  the  river  Cydnus  for  Mediterranean 
boats,  it  was  truly  cosmopolitan;  and,  having  schools 
that  rivalled  those  of  Athens  and  Alexandria,  it  was 
one  of  the  famous  cities  of  learning.  The  boy  who 
grew  up  in  such  a  place  would  have  an  outlook  upon 
the  world  very  different  from  that  of  a  boy  reared 
among  the  secluded  hills  of  Palestine.  In  all  his  later 
thought  and  action  Paul  shows  his  city  training.  His 
letters  reveal  little  of  that  love  of  nature  and  skill  in 
drawing  lessons  from  the  fields  and  flocks  which  char- 
acterize the  teachings  of  Jesus:  he  finds  his  illustra- 
tions rather  in  the  great  houses,  the  courts,  the  amphi- 
theaters, the  imperial  guards,  the  triumphal  proces- 
sions and  like  features  of  city  life.  And  in  his  jour- 
neys he  ever  seeks  the  cities,  and  loves  to  mingle  with 
men  in  the  crowded  streets  and  market-places.  There 
were  many  Jews  in  Tarsus,  as  in  most  large  cities  of 
Asia  Minor;  and  Paul's  ancestors,  who  were  of  the 
tribe  of  Benjamin  (Rom.  11 : 1),  had  lived  there  long, 
and  had  been  given  citizenship,  perhaps  as  an  induce- 
ment to  settle  there  originally.  In  some  unknown  way, 
by  distinguished  service  or  by  the  payment  of  a  great 
sum,  they  had  gained  Roman  citizenship  also   (Acts 


THE  EARLY  LIFE  OF  PAUL  69 

22:27), — a  much  higher  distinction,  prized  and  jeal- 
ously guarded  in  the  first  century.  In  addition  to 
honour  and  influence  it  brought  three  privileges  of 
much  use  to  Paul  later,  namely,  trial  by  Roman  courts, 
exemption  from  degrading  punishments  such  as  scourg- 
ing (though  a  Jew  could  not  claim  this  when  before  a 
Jewish  tribunal),  and  under  certain  circumstances  ap- 
peal to  Caesar.  A  family  thus  distinguished  and  in- 
fluential was  probably  wealthy.  To  be  sure,  Paul 
learned  a  trade  in  boyhood,  but  this  was  almost  com- 
pulsory upon  Jewish  boys ;  the  rabbis  used  to  say,  "  If 
a  man  does  not  teach  his  son  a  trade,  it  is  the  same  as 
if  he  did  teach  him  to  steal."  When  he  became  a  Chris- 
tian, Paul's  family  would  cut  him  off;  and  then  his 
trade,  which  was  weaving  cloth  of  coarse  goats'  hair  for 
tents,  proved  a  means  of  support  for  himself  and  some- 
times for  his  companions  (18:  3 ;  20 :  34).  As  a  Jew 
the  boy  was  given  a  Jewish  name,  Saul,  once  borne  by 
the  king  who  w^as  of  his  tribe ;  and  as  a  Roman  citizen 
he  had  also  a  Roman  name  of  which  we  know  only 
what  seems  to  be  the  cognomen,  Paul.  Professor  Ram- 
say suggestively  remarks,  ^'  If  we  could  think  of  him 
sometimes  as  Gains  Julius  Paulus, — to  give  him  a  pos- 
sible and  even  not  improbable  name, — ^how  completely 
would  our  view  of  him  be  transformed !  "  He  used 
his  Roman  name  only  when  he  was  among  the  Gen- 
tiles; but,  as  it  is  more  familiar  to  us,  we  shall  use  it 
in  the  whole  story  of  his  life. 

Paul's  parents  were  Pharisees,  and  the  boy  from  the 
first  lived  as  such  (23:6;  26:5).  A  Pharisee  in  a 
Gentile  city  could  not  observe  the  Law  as  strictly  as  in 
Jerusalem, — the  standards  must  be  lowered  somewhat; 
but  of  two  facts  in  Paul's  boyhood  we  may  be  sure. 
First,    as    the    son    of    a    Pharisee    he    was   carefully 


70  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

shielded  from  heathen  life  and  influences.  Boys  came 
from  a  distance  to  attend  the  university  at  Tarsus,  but 
he  would  not  be  allowed  to  enter  any  except  a  Jewish 
school.  Yet,  as  a  part  of  his  preparation  for  life  in  a 
Gentile  land,  he  did  learn  to  use  Greek,  and  doubtless 
as  a  Roman  citizen  knew  some  Latin,  though  Hebrew 
was  the  language  of  his  home.  And  he  could  not  but 
absorb  somewhat  of  the  Greek  culture  which  sur- 
rounded him.  Tarsus  was  a  center  of  Stoic  philoso- 
phy; and  parallels  between  the  thought  of  Paul  and 
of  the  famous  Stoic,  Seneca,  have  often  been  pointed 
out.  Second,  as  a  Pharisee  Paul  would  devote  his 
days,  even  in  childhood,  to  memorizing  and  putting 
into  practice  the  Law,  both  the  written  and  the  oral, 
even  to  minutest  details.  It  was  an  exacting  and  seem- 
ingly dreary  occupation ;  but  the  zeal  and  devotion  with 
which,  as  he  repeatedly  testifies,  he  pursued  it,  changed 
it  to  a  delight  and  carried  him  forward  beyond  many 
of  his  own  age  (Gal.  1:14).  Jewish  home  life  sur- 
passed that  of  all  other  nations  in  the  loving  compan- 
ionship of  husband  and  wife  and  the  tender  care  of 
parents  for  children;  yet  we  cannot  but  wonder  if 
something  of  his  own  experience  in  childhood  prompted 
Paul  to  enjoin,  "  Husbands,  love  your  wives,  and  be 
not  bitter  against  them.  *  *  *  Fathers,  provoke 
not  your  children  that  they  be  not  discouraged  "  (Col. 
3:19,  21).  Did  the  rigid  demands  of  Pharisaism 
with  its  emphasis  of  constant  self-discipline  so  check 
his  father's  manifestation  of  affection  as  to  cast  a 
shadow  over  the  household? 

2.    The  Young  Man  in  Jerusalem. 

At  the  age  of  fifteen,  or  whenever  he  had  advanced 
as  far  as  the  Jewish  teachers  in  Tarsus  could  take  him, 


THE  EARLY  LIFE  OF  PAUL  71 

Paul  was  sent  to  Jerusalem,  where  a  sister  lived  (at 
least,  her  son  did  later,  23:16),  to  sit  as  a  pupil  at 
the  feet  of  Gamaliel  (22:3).  This  grandson  of  the 
famous  Hillel  was  ^'  had  in  honour  of  all  the  people  " 
(5:  34)  as  one  of  the  best  and  broadest-minded  of  the 
great  rabbis.  His  attitude  toward  the  Christians 
(5:  34-40)  has  already  been  noticed;  and  his  liberality 
in  other  matters,  such  as  approving  the  study  of  Greek 
literature,  scandalized  his  stricter  brethren.  Possibly 
Paul's  father  selected  him  for  his  son,  recognizing  that 
the  lad  needed  a  teacher  who  would  restrain  rather 
than  increase  a  tendency  towards  narrowness  and 
bigotry ;  certainly  we  may  see  divine  guidance  in  plac- 
ing the  future  apostle  to  Gentiles  under  such  a  rabbi. 
Here  Paul  lived  and  studied  for  several  years,  being, 
as  he  says,  "  instructed  according  to  the  strict  manner 
of  the  law  of  our  fathers  "  (22 :  3),  and  becoming  most 
thoroughly  a  Hebrew  (II  Cor.  11:  22).  The  influence 
of  his  rabbinical  training  is  evident  in  his  letters.  A 
rabbi  guided  his  pupils  in  an  exhaustive  study  of  the 
Jewish  scriptures,  searching  for  hidden  meanings,  em- 
phasizing minute  differences,  using  allegory  and  legend 
in  illustration.  So  Paul  is  teaching  like  a  rabbi  when 
he  finds  a  significant  difference  between  "  seed  '^  and 
"seeds"  (Gal.  3:16),  or  makes  Mount  Sinai  typify 
Jerusalem  (Gal.  4:  25),  or  uses  the  legend  of  the  rock 
that  followed  the  Israelites  in  the  desert  furnishing 
water  (I  Cor.  10:4). 

Absurd  as  some  of  the  rabbinical  instruction  seems 
to  us,  the  teaching  of  such  a  man  as  Gamaliel  with 
such  a  text-book  as  the  Old  Testament  must  have  been 
inspiring  and  profitable.  It  made  Paul  intimately 
familiar  with  the  high  visions  of  prophets,  the  spir- 
itual experiences  of  psalmists,  and  the  wonderful  priv- 


72  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

ileges  of  his  people,  "whose  is  the  adoption  and  the 
glorj  and  the  covenants  and  the  giving  of  the  Law  and 
the  service  of  God  and  the  promises,  whose  are  the 
fathers,  and  of  whom  is  Christ  as  concerning  the  flesh  " 
(Rom.  9;  4  f.).  Though  his  life-work  was  among  the 
Gentiles  and  he  was  increasingly  hated  hy  the  Jews, 
his  love  for  his  own  nation  never  ceased ;  and  his  pride 
in  their  past  lent  intensity  to  his  desire  for  their 
present  salvation.  There  is  no  stronger  expression  in 
all  his  writings  than  his  cry,  "  I  could  pray  that  I 
myself  were  anathema  from  Christ  for  my  brethren's 
sake,  my  kinsmen  according  to  the  flesh  ''  (Rom.  9:3). 
If  we  judge  from  his  later  years,  Paul  was  not  only  a 
diligent  learner,  he  was  also  an  independent  and  orig- 
inal thinker.  And  with  him  to  know  was  to  do;  his 
will  was  set  on  perfect  obedience  to  the  Law;  and  his 
success  was  such  that,  when  reviewing  these  years  long 
afterwards,  he  could  pronounce  himself  "  as  touching 
the  righteousness  which  is  in  the  Law,  found  blame- 
less"  (Phil.  3:  6).  Also,  there  burned  within  him  the 
desire  to  bring  others  to  like  acceptance  and  obedience. 
"  Even  before  his  conversion,"  says  McGiflert,  ''  he  de- 
sired to  be  not  merely  a  rabbi  but  a  missionary,"  to 
prepare  his  own  nation  for  the  coming  of  the  Messiah, 
and  to  win  other  nations  to  acceptance  of  the  Jewish 
faith.  In  this  he  was  a  true  son  of  the  Pharisees,  con- 
cerning whom  Jesus  said,  "  Ye  compass  sea  and  land 
to  make  one  proselyte"  (Matt.  23:  15). 

Paul  remained  in  Jerusalem  until  he  had  completed 
his  studies  under  Gamaliel, — three  years,  at  least,  and 
probably  several  more;  then  naturally  he  returned  to 
Tarsus,  there  to  live  and  teach  as  a  rabbi,  though  he 
would  not  be  allowed  to  head  a  rabbinical  school  until 
he  was  forty  years  old.     As  a  citizen  of  Tarsus  he 


THE  EARLY  LIFE  OF  PAUL  73 

must  have  felt  the  responsibilities  and  exercised  the 
duties  that  belonged  to  citizenship,  and  have  acquired 
the  knowledge  of  civic  life  which  lies  behind  his  com- 
mand, "  Render  to  all  their  dues :  tribute  to  whom 
tribute  is  due ;  custom  to  whom  custom ;  fear  to  whom 
fear;  honour  to  whom  honour"  (Rom.  13:7).  And 
as  a  Roman  citizen  he  could  not  but  exult  in  the  great- 
ness and  power  and  discipline  of  his  empire,  and  gain 
from  Rome  that  conception  of  a  unity  of  all  life  under 
one  gi-eat  head  which  later  on  he  transferred  to  the 
empire  of  Christ.  Though  he  knew  it  not,  Paul  even  in 
Tarsus,  was  being  trained  for  world-wide  evangelism. 
"  Modern  life,''  says  Robertson,  ''  is  chiefly  a  blend  of 
the  Jewish  contribution  to  religion,  the  Greek  contribu- 
tion to  culture,  and  the  Roman  contribution  to  govern- 
ment ;  "  and  in  Paul  these  three  were  combined.  His 
advice  about  marriage  and  woman's  obedience  to  her 
husband  and  her  part  in  church  services,  has  made  some 
readers  curious  as  to  just  what  his  experiences  with  the 
other  sex  had  been.  That  he  had  no  wife  when  he  wrote 
I  Cor.  7 :  8  seems  evident,  but  that  he  had  never  been 
married  is  highly  improbable;  marriage  was  a  sacred 
duty  for  a  Jew,  and  no  young  rabbi  would  neglect  it. 
We  may  be  fairly  certain  that  Paul  in  his  apostolic  days 
was  a  widower ;  but  whether  we  go  further  and,  as  some 
have  done,  surmise  that  his  matrimonial  experience  had 
been  distasteful  or  distressing,  depends  upon  how  much 
bitterness  we  seem  to  find  in  his  words  concerning 
women  and  marriage. 

Though  attendance  at  the  annual  feasts  in  the  temple 
was  not  obligatory  upon  Jews  living  at  a  distance, 
probably  Paul  went  up  to  Jerusalem  often,  for  he  was 
zealous  in  keeping  the  law;  but  he  seems  to  have  met 
neither  John  the  Baptist  nor  Jesus  during  their  brief 


74  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

public  ministries.    What  lie  learned  from  others  about 
the  Christians  would  come  from  hostile  sources ;  and  his 
first  direct  encounter  with  them  probably  was  when, 
having  come  to  Jerusalem  for  worship  or  on  business, 
he  listened  to  Stephen  speaking  in  the  synagogue  of  the 
Cilicians.     Aroused  by  what  he  heard  this  follower  of 
Jesus  teach,  the  zealous  young  rabbi  engaged  in  disputa- 
tion with  him;  and  when  worsted  in  this,  did  his  ut- 
most to  stir  up  persecution,  thinking  that  verily  he  did 
God  service  (26 :  9).    In  the  fierce  scenes  that  followed 
he  was  the  fanatical  leader;  he  took  the  whole  blame 
upon  himself  afterwards   (Gal.  1:13;  I  Cor.  15:9), 
and  Luke  seems  to  indicate  that  as  soon  as  he  was  con- 
verted the  persecution  ceased  (9  :  31).    If  this  be  a  cor- 
rect reconstruction  of  his  history,  it  settles  that  he  was 
not  a  member  of  the  Sanhedrin ;  for  as  such  he  w^ould 
have  resided  in  Jerusalem  or  its  vicinity,   and  must 
have  known  the  counsel  of  Gamaliel  and  the  law-abiding 
life  of  the  Christians,  both  of  which  would  moderate  his 
rage.     Moreover,  though  the  term  ''  a  young  man  "  is 
indefinite,  Paul  could  hardly  have  been  old  enough  at 
Stephen's  death  to  hold  a  place  in  that  most  honoured 
assembly  of  the  elders  of  Israel.     His  statement  con- 
cerning ihe  martyrs,  "  When  they  were  put  to  death,  I 
gave  my  vote  against  them"  (26:  10),  means  only  that 
he  heartily  endorsed  the  action,  as  was  shown  in  his 
conduct  at  the  stoning  of  Stephen,  where  indeed  there 
seems  to  have  been  no  formal  vote  but  only  frenzied 
popular  acclamation.    After  the  persecution  started  he 
was  given  some  official  appointment  for  its  prosecution 
(9:1  f.),  and  in  this  way  was  connected  with  the  San- 
hedrin; and  we  may  be  sure  that  his  learning,  ability 
and  tireless  labours  would  some  day  have  been  rewarded 
by  election  to  full  membership,  had  he  not  become  a 


THE  EARLY  LIFE  OF  PAUL  75 

Christian.     This  brilliant  future  was  one  of  the  gains 
he  counted  loss  for  Christ  (Phil.  3:7). 

3.     From  Persecutor  to  Penitent. 

The  conversion  of  Paul  has  been  set  forth  by  some  as 
a  proof  of  the  supernatural,  second  only  to  the  resurrec- 
tion of  Jesus ;  others  explain  it  as  a  most  natural  change 
in  an  emotional  and  excited  person.  The  first  group 
of  writers  picture  Paul  firm  in  his  convictions,  unre- 
lenting in  his  rage  against  Christians,  then  suddenly 
turned  about  and  completely  transformed  by  meeting 
the  risen  Lord.  The  second  group  maintain  that  Paul, 
though  outwardly  firm  against  Christianity,  was  in- 
wardly troubled  and  almost  persuaded  to  accept  it ;  and 
in  this  spiritual  state  of  unstable  equilibrium  some 
purely  natural  event, — a  thunderstorm,  a  sunstroke,  or 
a  fancy  of  his  heated  brain, — was  enough  to  make  him 
think  he  saw  Jesus  and  to  cause  his  conversion.  It  is, 
therefore,  important  to  consider  carefully  just  what  did 
take  place  as  the  heresy-hunter  drew  nigh  to  Damascus. 
Fortunately,  besides  several  references  to  it  in  Paul's 
writings,  we  have  three  accounts  in  Acts, — one  by  Luke 
writing  as  an  historian,  one  by  Paul  propitiating  a 
Jewish  mob  who  thought  him  a  religious  renegade,  anj 
the  third  by  Paul  addressing  a  Roman  ruler  and  a 
grandson  of  Herod  the  Great,  two  educated  sceptics. 
The  three  accounts  differ  in  emphasis  according  to  their 
purpose,  and  also  in  certain  minor  details  which  by  a 
little  ingenuity  can  be  harmonized,  and  which  so  care- 
ful an  historian  as  Luke  would  not  have  left  unex- 
plained, had  he  r^arded  them  as  discrepancies. 

Paul,  the  persecutor,  bound  for  Damascus  with  au- 
thority to  arrest  and  bring  to  Jerusalem  all  men  or 
women  who  were  "  of  the  Way,''  was — according  to  his 


76  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

own  statement — a  most  strict  Pharisee  who  was  laying 
waste  the  church  in  all  good  conscience  but  in  ignorance 
and  unbelief.     There  was  no  doubt  in  his  mind  that  he 
"  ought  to  do  many  things  contrary  to  the  name  of 
Jesus  ''  (26 :  9), — in  other  words,  that  in  every  possible 
way  he  ought  to  assail  those  who  proclaimed  as  Mes- 
siah one   against  whom  the  wrath   of  God  had  been 
clearly  shown  by  His  crucifixion.     Did  not  the  Scrip- 
ture expressly  state,  "  He  that  is  hanged  is  accursed  of 
God''    (Deut.   21:23,  cf.   Gal.   3:13)?     And  if  the 
curse  of  God  was  upon  this  false  Messiah,  it  must  like- 
wise be  upon  all  who  accepted  him,  no  matter  how  seem- 
ingly blameless  their  lives  and  attractive  their  teach- 
ings.    But  though  Paul  had  no  qualms  about  persecut- 
ing the  Christians,  he  tells  us  in  Eomans  7 :  7-25,  which 
is  taken  as  a  record  of  his  own  spiritual  state  at  this 
very  time,  that  he  was  wretched,   restless,  almost  in 
despair  because,  while  as  a  Pharisee  he  believed  that 
righteousness  could  be  gained  only  by  perfect  obedience 
to  the  Law,  experience  was  increasingly  proving  that 
such  obedience  was  utterly  beyond  human  ability.    Even 
if  by  intense  and  constant  effort  he  should  meet  all  the 
outward  demands  of  the  Law,  there  still  remained  the 
inward  demands,  such  as  that  of  the  commandment, 
"  Thou  shalt  not  covet,"  impossible  for  sinful  human 
nature.    He  says,  ^^  To  will  is  present  with  me,  but  to 
work  that  which  is  good  is  not ;  "   and  this  hopeless 
contradiction  creates   a   despair  that  makes  him  cry, 
"  Wretched  man  that  I  am !  who  shall  deliver  me  out 
of  this  body  of  death  ?  "     Perhaps  it  was  the  goad  of 
this  spiritual  unrest  that  drove  him  to  persecute  the 
Christians  so  fiercely,  hoping  thereby  to  find  peace  of 
mind. 

To  one  tormented  as  Paul  was,  there  must  have  been 


THE  EARLY  LIFE  OF  PAUL  77 

Bometliing  wonderfully  attractive  in  the  declaration  of 
the  Christians  that  through  their  Prince  and  Saviour 
past  sins  might  be  blotted  out,  and  the  Holy  Spirit  be 
given  for  aid  in  righteous  living  (2:38;  3:19; 
5  :  31-32).  This  had  been  stated  powerfully  by  Stephen 
in  those  unforgetable  disputations,  and  proclaimed  even 
more  effectively  in  the  peace,  joy  and  assurance  of 
God's  favour  which  he  and  other  Christians  evidently 
enjoyed,  and  which  Paul  so  lacked  and  craved.  And 
when  Stephen  was  put  to  the  final  test,  there  was  no  re- 
traction:— he  stood  before  his  accusers  with  a  face 
radiant  as  that  of  an  angel ;  he  looked  up  with  rejoicing 
from  their  fury  to  the  welcome  of  his  Lord;  and  he 
died  with  a  prayer  that  his  murderers  might  be  for- 
given. Though  Paul  could  not  recognize  it  until  later, 
Stephen  was  his  spiritual  father ;  the  mantle  of  the  first 
martyr  fell  upon  his  shoulders,  even  as  the  garments  of 
the  witnesses  were  laid  at  his  feet.  Probably  the  jour- 
ney from  Jerusalem  to  Damascus,  which  took  nearly  a 
week,  was  the  first  opportunity  since  the  persecution 
began,  for  him  to  think  quietly  upon  these  things.  Yet 
mere  meditation  could  not  change  his  purpose,  nor  any 
process  of  logic  bring  him  to  the  truth,  because  every 
line  of  thought  about  Christianity  ended  with  a  cruci- 
fied Messiah, — an  absurd,  monstrous,  revolting  fact. 
The  pride  of  the  Jew — and  Jews  were  the  proudest  race 
on  earth — rested  on  the  expectation  of  a  Messiah  who 
would  be  monarch  of  the  whole  world,  and  bring  to  dust 
the  arrogant  Koman  rulers.  To  accept  instead  a  Gali- 
lean carpenter  whose  short  life  had  ended  most  igno- 
miniously,  was  humiliation  unspeakable.  To  be  sure, 
the  Christians  removed  this  stumbling-block  by  declar- 
ing that  Jesus  had  returned  to  them  triumphant  over 
death,  had  walked  and  talked  and  eaten  and  drunk  with 


78  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

them,  and  then  like  Enoch  and  Elijah  had  been  taken 
deathless  to  heaven  whence  He  would  return  to  reign 
in  triumph.  But  this  story  seemed  to  Paul  utterly  in- 
credible, most  preposterous.  Yet  Stephen  had  set  his 
life  as  a  seal  to  the  truth  of  it !  And  if  it  were  true, 
what  then? 

Only  as  we  understand  Paul's  mental  and  spiritual 
attitude,  can  we  determine  what  happened  as  he  drew 
nigh  to  Damascus.  That  which  suddenly  confronted 
him  was  not  the  fancy  of  a  heated  brain,  for  it  was 
unexpected,  imdesired,  unimaginable.  ISTor  was  it 
wholly  an  inward  vision,  such  as  Paul  beheld  more  than 
once  in  later  years  (18:  9;  22: 18,  et  al.).  His  state- 
ment that  it  was  the  good  pleasure  of  God  ^'  to  reveal 
His  Son  in  me''  (Gal.  1: 16)  is  often  quoted  to  prove 
the  contrary;  but  Paul  there  is  speaking  of  the  revela- 
tion of  Christ,  not  to  him  inwardly,  but  in  him  to  others 
during  the  years  that  followed,  when  he  could  truly 
say  of  his  life,  "  It  is  no  longer  I  that  live  but  Christ 
liveth  in  me"  (Gal.  2:20).  Paul  needed  something 
that  would  remove  his  utter  unbelief  in  the  apostles' 
testimony  that  Jesus  had  come  back  to  them  from  the 
grave  by  a  resurrection  which  declared  Him  to  be  the 
Son  of  God.  An  inward  vision  would  not  do  this;  it 
would  only  prove  that  Jesus  lived  in  the  spirit  world; 
and  Paul  as  a  Pharisee  already  believed  in  life  after 
death.  To  accept  the  story  of  the  apostles  he,  like 
Thomas,  must  have  some  sort  of  physical  proof.  Jesus, 
glorious  as  Stephen  had  seen  Him,  yet  truly  in  the  flesh 
and  bearing  marks  of  the  crucifixion  as  the  apostles  had 
testified, — this  was  the  manifestation  Paul  needed ;  and, 
wonderful  and  hard  to  realize  though  the  fact  may  be, 
it  was  granted  him.  His  companions  were  aware  only 
of  a  light  brighter  than  the  midday  sun,  but  to  Paul 


THE  EARLY  LIFE  OF  PAUL  79 

was  given  a  brief  but  overwlielming  and  blinding  vision 
of  the  divine  form;  and  while  the  others  heard  only  a 
meaningless  sound,  Paul's  ear  caught  the  words,  spoken 
in  the  language  of  his  childhood,  ^'  Saul,  Saul,  why  per- 
secutest  thou  me?"  The  question,  ^' Who  art  thou, 
Lord  ?  "  is  his  last  struggle  of  unbelief ;  with  the  answer 
to  it,  doubt  and  opposition  vanish ;  and  in  full  surren- 
der, yet  with  the  old  Pharisaic  emphasis  upon  deeds, 
Paul  asks,  '^  Wliat  shall  I  do.  Lord  ?  "  The  reply  is 
brief, — Paul  is  in  no  condition  to  grasp  more  than  the 
next  step, — '^Arise  and  go  into  Damascus,  and  there  it 
shall  be  told  thee."  And  when  the  bright  light  has  van- 
ished, his  companions  lift  the  fallen,  blinded  man  to  his 
feet,  and  lead  him  by  the  hand  into  the  city, — ^no  longer 
a  persecutor  but  a  bewildered  penitent.  "  The  power 
of  His  resurrection  "  (Phil.  3:  10)  has  swept  away  his 
unbelief,  and  left  forever  clear  and  firm  his  faith  that 
Jesus  is  indeed  the  Son  of  God  (Rom.  1:4). 

In  later  years  Paul  placed  his  sight  of  Jesus  in  the 
list  of  resurrection  appearances  (I  Cor.  15:8);  he 
never  doubted  its  reality,  and  he  pointed  to  it  in  proof 
of  his  claim  to  be  an  apostle  (Id.  9:1;  cf.  Gal.  1:1), 
able  as  the  others  to  bear  witness  to  the  resurrection. 
Yet  he  felt  that  he  had  come  into  the  apostolic  circle  as 
one  prematurely  bom  comes  into  the  world  (Id.  15 :  8). 
The  Twelve  had  slowly  but  normally  developed  in 
Christian  knowledge,  at  first  under  the  teachings  of 
Jesus  and  afterwards  under  the  guidance  of  the  Holy 
Spirit ;  despite  many  things  for  which  they  reproached 
themselves,  they  recalled  with  pleasure  and  ever-increas- 
ing gratitude  the  wondrous  days  of  loving  companion- 
ship with  Jesus  and  the  lessons  learned  at  His  feet; 
they  had  begun  with  a  Master  whom  they  knew  to  be 
human,  and  had  ended  with  a  Lord  whom  they  recog- 


80  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

nized  to  be  divine.  In  Paul  all  this  process  was  exactly 
reversed: — ^he  liad  been  suddenly  translated  out  of  the 
bitter  bondage  of  the  Law  into  the  glorious  liberty  of 
the  children  of  God ;  his  past  had  a  record  he  longed  to 
forget  but  found  facing  him  again  and  again  as  he  met 
those  who  had  cruelly  suffered  at  his  hands  in  the  old, 
sad  days  of  persecution ;  and  his  first  revelation  was  of 
the  risen  Lord  who  reigns  in  glory, — later  years  were 
to  bring  a  knowledge  of  the  Master  who  taught  in  Pales- 
tine. The  theology  of  any  man,  if  vital  enough  to  be 
called  "  my  gospel,"  is  that  portion  of  the  immeasurable 
expanse  of  divine  truth  which  his  own  experience  fits 
him  to  behold.  Can  we  wonder,  then,  that  Paul  in  his 
teaching  gives  the  central  place  to  certain  truths  that 
are  only  on  the  horizon  of  the  thought  of  the  Twelve? 
Indeed,  his  whole  theology,  as  he  sets  it  forth  in  his 
epistles,  is  only  a  full  statement  of  what  was  involved 
in  his  conversion. 

4.    The  Disciple  at  Damascus. 

For  three  days,  the  longest  in  his  life,  Paul  sat  in 
darkness  overwhelmed  with  self-reproach  and  bewilder- 
ment. The  persecution  of  the  Christians,  which  he  had 
proudly  believed  to  be  his  supremest  service  to  God,  now 
weighed  upon  him  as  hideous  mistake  and  irreparable 
injury.  The  path  he  had  so  confidently  trodden  was 
completely  blocked,  and  he  waited  in  blindness  to  learn 
his  future  course.  Even  the  barrier  between  himself 
and  the  other  believers  had  not  been  broken  through; 
he  was  living  in  the  house  of  a  Jew  called  Judas  in  the 
street  called  Straight,  whither  his  companions  had 
brought  him,  and  the  little  band  of  disciples,  who  knew 
that  he  was  on  the  way  or  had  already  arrived,  were 
dreading  his  next  movement.     As  in  the  case  of  Cor- 


THE  EARLY  LIFE  OF  PAUL  81 

nelius,  it  required  a  double  message  given  in  divine 
visions  to  break  the  barrier  down.  Ananias,  a  leading 
disciple  and  '*  a  devout  man  according  to  the  Law,  well 
reported  of  bj  all  the  Jews  who  dwelt  there,"  was  sent 
to  bear  to  Paul  both  physical  and  spiritual  sight;  and 
the  gift  of  the  Holy  Spirit  and  baptism  followed  his 
words.  Doubtless  Ananias  gave  him  some  instruction 
in  Christian  truth,  though  Paul  indignantly  denies  the 
charge  that  he  received  his  gospel  from  him  (Gal. 
1:12). 

Just  how  far  his  future  mission  as  apostle  to  Gentiles 
was  now  made  clear  to  Paul  is  an  interesting  question. 
In  his  speech  to  Agrippa  he  seems  to  put  his  apostolic 
commission  in  the  lips  of  Jesus  at  the  time  of  his  con- 
version; but  by  comparing  the  other  accounts  we  see 
that  he  is  assigning  to  that  hour  of  conversion  all  the 
light  upon  his  future  course  which  he  slowly  gained 
afterwards.  Certainly  one  so  devoted  to  the  Law  as 
Ananias  could  not  conceive  that  salvation  without  the 
Law  would  be  preached  by  Paul,  even  if  it  was  revealed 
to  him  that  Paul  was  selected  by  the  Lord  to  proclaim 
the  Messiah  before  Gentiles  and  kings  (9:15).  As 
for  Paul  himself  the  difference  between  a  Jewish  Mes- 
siah and  a  Saviour  of  the  world  was  too  great  for  one 
trained  as  a  rabbi  to  grasp  at  first ;  and  it  took  the  vision 
in  the  temple  (22:  17  f.)  to  force  him  away  from  his 
work  among  the  Jews  of  Jerusalem  and  Judea.  Never- 
theless, his  conversion  led  logically  to  his  becoming  a 
missionary  to  the  Gentiles.  His  previous  view  of 
Christ  as  accursed,  would  help  him  to  realize  that  the 
realm  of  Christ  is  outside  that  of  the  Law.  His  own 
salvation,  granted  when  he  was  "  a  blasphemer  and  a 
persecutor  and  injurious"  (I  Tim.  1: 13)  was  clearly 
of  grace  and  not  of  works ;  and  grace  sufficient  to  save 


82  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

him  was  sufficient  to  save  Gentile  as  well  as  Jew. 
Henceforth  when  the  world  asked  what  Christ  could  do 
for  sinners,  he  could  point  to  what  He  had  done  for 
him,  the  greatest  sinner  of  all  (I  Tim.  1:  15).  More 
than  this,  Paul  in  later  years,  when  looking  back  over 
his  course,  could  see  that  from  his  very  infancy  he  was 
being  divinely  fitted  for  his  life-work.  The  inheritance 
of  Hebrew  blood  and  Koman  citizenship,  the  childhood 
training  in  a  great  and  cosmopolitan  heathen  city,  the 
teaching  of  such  a  rabbi  as  Gamaliel,  the  intense  per- 
sonal experience  of  the  power  and  weakness  of  the 
Law, — all  these  were  a  preparation  for  the  task  to  which 
he  was  called  by  God  who  set  him  apart,  even  before 
his  birth,  that  he  might  preach  Christ  among  the  Gen- 
tiles (Gal.  1:15-16). 


PAUL  peeachhs-g  the  faith 

DAMASCUS,  a  city  old  when  Abraham  was 
young,  lay  on  the  very  border  of  the  Roman 
empire,  and  was  at  times  ruled  by  the  Arab 
kings  of  Petra.  If  Paul  came  there  in  31  or  32  a.d., 
it  was  then  under  the  Romans, — so  the  coins  of  the  city 
indicate.  Its  relations  with  Jerusalem  were  so  inti- 
mate that  many  Jews  made  it  their  home ;  and  Josephus 
says  the  Gentile  women  of  the  city  were  greatly  inter- 
ested in  the  Jewish  religion, — a  credible  statement  since 
Judaism  attracted  Gentile  women  by  its  freedom  from 
licentiousness  and  its  exaltation  of  the  sex ;  and  if  they 
became  proselytes  the  burden  of  the  Law  was  less  heavy 
upon  them  than  upon  men.  Into  the  synagogue  in  any 
foreign  city  they  came  as  devout  worshippers;  and 
through  their  influence  over  husbands  and  friends  they 
often  gained  favours  for  the  Jews  (13:  50).  In  Da- 
mascus a  group  of  Jews  and  proselytes  were  now  Chris- 
tians; some  possibly  had  met  Jesus  during  His  public 
ministry  (Matt.  4:  24),  some  may  have  heard  Peter  at 
Pentecost,  and  some  perhaps  had  fled  from  Jerusalem 
after  Stephen's  death  (Acts  9: 13).  It  is  easy  to  see 
how  a  Christian  church  sprang  up  here;  but  nothing 
reveals  its  size  or  its  development  in  doctrine. 

Luke  tells  us  that  as  soon  as  Paul  was  baptized, 
"  straightway  in  the  synagogues  he  proclaimed  Jesus, 
that  He  is  the  Son  of  God  ''  (9  :  20).  We  could  expect 
this.  Paul  was  too  energetic  to  remain  quiet,  and  peni- 
tence would  spur  him  on.     The  synagogues  were  open 

83 


84  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

to  him,  for  the  relations  between  Jews  and  Christians 
in  Damascus  were  still  friendly ;  and  his  fame  as  a  per- 
secutor, when  joined  with  the  startling  story  of  his  con- 
version, would  make  men  curious  to  hear  him.  But 
Paul  was  hastening  as  a  herald  before  he  had  fully 
gained  his  message, — a  not  uncommon  mistake.  The 
sight  of  the  glorious,  risen  Lord  had  convinced  him  that 
Jesus  was  the  Messiah,  and  he  could  proclaim  this 
truth  with  power,  but  nothing  more,  since  he  had 
grasped  nothing  more, — the  creed  of  a  new  convert  is 
always  a  very  short  one.  And  so  his  preaching  bore 
little  fruit  except  amazement  in  those  who  listened  to 
him.  Indeed,  it  was  not  easy  for  Paul  to  lay  hold  on 
the  gospel  he  was  to  preach.  He  could  not,  like  Peter, 
simply  add  faith  in  Jesus  to  his  former  religious  belief, 
for  that  proud  structure  of  Pharisaism  had  been  smitten 
to  the  dust.  IN'ow  what  should  be  reared  in  its  place  ? 
What  could  he  answer  concerning  the  work  of  Christ, 
when  his  hearers  hurled  objections,  or  his  own  heart 
whispered  difficulties?  Though  his  preaching  in  the 
synagogues  went  on  for  ''  certain  days  "  (9  :  19-20),  we 
are  not  surprised  to  find  that,  when  telling  what  fol- 
lowed his  conversion,  he  counts  this  period  of  so  little 
value  as  to  say,  ''  Straightway  I  conferred  not  with 
flesh  and  blood,  but  I  went  away  into  Arabia  "  (Gal. 
1 :  16  f.).  Jesus  sought  the  wilderness  of  Judea  to  pre- 
pare in  solitude  for  His  public  ministry;  and  for  the 
same  purpose  Paul  went  out  into  the  loneliness  of  the 
Arabian  desert, — not  necessarily  far  from  Damascus, 
however,  for  the  deseii;  came  up  almost  to  the  city  gates. 
How  long  he  stayed  there,  how  he  lived,  what  spiritual 
struggles  and  ecstasies  were  his,  he  does  not  disclose. 
He  points  back  to  this  sacred  chapter  of  his  life  to  prove 
only  "  as  touching  the  gospel  which  was  preached  by 


PAUL  PREACHING  THE  FAITH  85 

me,  that  it  is  not  after  man,  for  neither  did  I  receive 
it  from  a  man  nor  was  I  taught  it ;  but  it  came  to  me 
through  revelation  of  Jesus  Christ''  (Gal.  1:11-12). 
In  these  months  of  deepest  meditation  Jesus  was  unveil- 
ing Himself  to  the  man  who  had  asked  *^  Who  art  thou, 
Lord  ?  " ;  and  Paul  was  slowly  gaining  the  truths  that 
he  calls  "  my  gospel,"  of  which  the  very  central  one  is, 
"  I  have  been  crucified  with  Christ,  and  it  is  no  longer 
I  that  live  but  Christ  liveth  in  me ;  and  that  life  which 
I  now  live  in  the  flesh  I  live  in  faith,  the  faith  which 
is  in  the  Son  of  God  who  loved  me,  and  gave  Himself 
up  for  me"  (Gal.  2:  20).  Paul  in  the  desert  was  not 
a  student  of  divinity  fashioning  a  creed  dry  as  the  sands 
themselves;  he  was  a  mystic,  communing  with  the 
divine,  hearing  words  unspeakable,  and  merging  his  life 
in  the  life  of  the  Crucified. 

After  Arabia  Paul  returned  again  to  Damascus. 
And  the  effect  of  the  desert  days  is  revealed  in  Luke's 
statement  (Acts  9:22)  that  he  increased  the  more  in 
streng*th,  and  was  now  able  not  only  to  proclaim  Jesus 
as  the  Son  of  God  but  to  prove  that  He  is  the  Christ, 
and  instead  of  merely  amazing  the  Jews,  to  confound 
them  even  as  Stephen  once  had  confounded  him.  This 
second  period  of  preaching  in  Damascus  continued 
''many  days"  (9:23)  until  three  years  in  all  (31-34 
A.D.)  had  passed  since  Paul's  conversion  (Gal.  1:  18). 
The  new  force  in  his  preaching  at  last  aroused  the  hos- 
tility of  the  Jews  to  the  point  of  seeking  to  kill  him. 
They  had  special  opportunity  to  accomplish  this  when 
the  city  in  34  a.d.  was  transferred  to  the  control  of  the 
Arab  king,  Aretas,  because  his  representative  ^vould  be 
desirous  to  hold  the  favour  of  its  numerous  Jewish 
population.  If  Paul  were  brought  before  the  ethnarch 
on  any  charge  trumped  up  by  them,  his  condemnation 


86  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

was  certain.  That  a  charge  had  been  made,  and  an 
order  for  his  arrest  issued,  is  shown  by  the  statement 
that  the  gates  of  the  city  were  watched  day  and  night 
to  prevent  his  escape  (Acts  9 :  20-25 ;  II  Cor.  11 :  32  1). 
Terrified  by  his  danger,  Paul's  disciples  forced  him  to 
flee ;  and  he  was  lowered  in  a  basket  through  a  window 
over  the  wall  at  night,  and  then  made  his  way  back  to 
Jerusalem.  In  later  years  he  reckoned  this  flight,  or 
else  this  way  of  fleeing,  a  weakness  (II  Cor.  11:  30) ; 
though  why,  it  is  hard  to  say. 

2.     In  Jerusalem  and  Judea. 

Up  to  this  time  Paul  could  have  known  very  little 
about  the  earthly  ministry  of  his  Lord ;  and  he  tells  us 
(Gal.  1:  18)  that  his  object  in  now  going  to  Jerusalem 
was  to  see,  i.e.,  to  interview,  Peter,  the  apostle  who  was 
the  recognized  leader  of  the  Twelve,  and  who  best  of 
all  could  tell  him  what  Jesus  had  said  and  done.  But 
an  evil  reputation  dies  slowly;  and  when  Paul  reached 
Jerusalem,  the  disciples  feared  he  was  hiding  some 
scheme  of  persecution  under  a  pretended  conversion, 
and  would  have  barred  him  from  their  circle  had  it  not 
been  for  Barnabas,  one  of  the  noblest  figures  in  the 
Apostolic  Age,  "  a  good  man,  and  full  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  and  of  faith"  (11:  24),  generous  in  his  sympa- 
thies and  well  meriting  his  name,  "  son  of  consolation." 
Tradition  says  he  like  Paul  had  been  a  pupil  of  Gama- 
liel ;  so,  as  a  lad  from  Cyprus,  he  may  have  known  the 
lad  from  Tarsus,  and  felt  sure  that  deception  by  him 
was  impossible.  At  any  rate,  he  now  came  forward 
as  sponsor  and  gained  for  Paul  a  kindly  reception  from 
Peter  and  James,  the  brother  of  Jesus,  the  only  heads 
of  the  church  just  then  in  the  city.  Por  fifteen  days 
Paul  was  the  guest  of  Peter,  with  eager  desire  and 


PAUL  PREACHING  THE  FAITH  87 

abundant  opportunity  to  become  well-informed  about 
the  life  and  teachings  of  Jesus, — a  fact  strangely  over- 
looked by  those  who  picture  him  as  wholly  ignorant  of 
the  real  Jesus  because  he  never  met  Him  in  His  earthly 
years.  Sucli  ignorance  is  incredible  when  we  realize 
that  not  only  now  but  again  and  again  in  his  later  years 
Paul  was  in  closest  contact  with  men  who  had  shared 
the  earthly  life  of  his  Lord,  and  could  tell  him  far  more 
than  what  is  recorded  in  our  gospels.  This  full  fort- 
night of  companionship  must  also  have  created  an  inti- 
macy and  confidence  between  Peter  and  Paul  that 
should  not  be  forgotten  when  we  consider  their  later 
relations.  Peter  seems  to  have  been  called  away  at  the 
close  of  the  fifteen  days;  but  Paul  stayed  on,  deter- 
mined most  characteristically  to  bear  witness  to  Christ 
where  once  he  had  persecuted  His  disciples  both  in 
Jerusalem  and  in  all  Judea  (9 :  28 ;  26 :  20).  He  strove 
specially  to  break  down  the  unbelief  of  his  fellow  Hel- 
lenists; but  his  disputations  with  them, — perhaps  in  the 
same  synagogue  where  once  he  had  disputed  with 
Stephen, — only  stirred  their  wrath  until  they  were 
ready  to  bring  Stephen's  fate  upon  him.  The  brethren 
recognized  his  danger ;  but  Paul  would  not  believe  that 
his  testimony  for  Christ  could  be  rejected  by  those  who 
knew  so  well  his  foiTuer  deeds  as  a  persecutor;  and  he 
was  determined  not  to  be  coaxed  or  driven  into  fleeing 
from  enemies  a  second  time.  Just  at  this  critical  hour, 
however,  he  fell  into  a  trance  when  praying  in  the  tem- 
ple, and  received  from  his  Lord  the  revelation  that  fur- 
ther work  in  Jerusalem  would  be  fruitless,  and  also  the 
direct  command,  ''  Depart ;  for  I  will  send  thee  far 
hence  unto  the  Gentiles  '^  (22 :  17  f.).  With  duty  thus 
made  clear,  he  hastened  to  leave  Judea;  and  the 
brethren  took  him  to  Caesarea  whence  he  sailed  to  his 


88  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

old  home,  Tarsus.  What  sort  of  welcome  awaited  him 
there  from  his  stem  old  Pharisaic  father,  we  can  easily 
imagine ! 

3.     In  Syria  and  Cilicia. 

We  come  now  to  a  great  gap  in  the  record  of  Paul's 
life.  If  his  two  visits  to  Jerusalem,  mentioned  in  Gala- 
tians,  are  both  dated  from  his  conversion,  as  seems 
likely,  it  extends  over  about  nine  years  (fourteen  years 
less  the  three  in  Damascus  and  Arabia,  the  months  in 
Jerusalem,  and  the  later  year  or  more  in  Antioch, 
11 :  26)  ;  but  all  we  know  about  it  is  his  brief  statement 
that  he  came  into  the  regions  of  Syria  and  Cilicia,  and 
that  the  churches  in  Judea,  though  they  never  saw  him 
during  this  period,  kept  hearing  with  joy  that  their 
former  persecutor  was  now  preaching  the  faith  he  once 
persecuted  (Gal.  1:21-23).  Even  if  he  had  not  told 
us,  we  might  be  sure  that  Paul  was  working  for  Christ ; 
he  would  not  and  could  not  be  idle.  Probably  many  of 
the  hardships  and  perils  catalogued  in  II  Cor.  11 :  23, 
were  undergone  during  this  period;  and  he  assigns  to 
it  one  (or  were  there  two?)  of  his  most  wonderful  and 
incommunicable  spiritual  experiences  (II  Cor.  12:  1-4). 
Also,  there  was  the  beginning  of  some  physical  infirm- 
ity,— the  "  thorn  in  the  flesh," — which  henceforth  hum- 
bled but  did  not  hinder  him.  These  unrecorded  years 
must  have  been  so  rich  in  thought  and  experience  that 
when  he  went  forth  with  Barnabas  on  what  we  call  his 
first  missionary  journey, — a  misleading  term, — he  was 
not  a  novice  but  a  trained  and  tried  worker  in  the  mis- 
sion field.  How  fruitful  his  work  was,  we  can  only  con- 
jecture; the  churches  in  Syria  and  Cilicia,  mentioned 
in  Acts  15 :  23,  41,  were  probably  founded  by  him 
during  this  time. 


PAUL  PREACHING  THE  FAITH  89 

It  is  thought  by  some  that  this  period  in  Paul's  life 
was  left  a  blank  because  ho  had  not  yet  realized  the 
liberty  of  believers,  and  was  still  acting  '^  as  if  the  door 
of  the  synagogue  was  the  portal  through  which  the 
nations  must  find  their  way  into  the  church  "  (Ram- 
say). But  Paul  had  been  sent  to  Gentiles  by  Jesus  in 
the  temple  vision ;  his  churches  in  Syria  and  Cilicia,  if 
they  were  his,  contained  Gentiles  (15:  23)  ;  and  Barna- 
bas found  him  ready  to  work  in  the  largely  Gentile 
church  of  Antioch.  We  may  be  sure,  however,  that  he 
preached  to  Jews  as  well  as  to  Gentiles, — he  always  did, 
if  they  would  listen ;  indeed,  it  is  probable  that  his  Gen- 
tile preaching  now  was  confined  to  the  devout  fearers  of 
God  who  worshipped  in  the  synagogues.  Paul's  per- 
ception of  the  freedom  in  Christ  from  all  bondage  to 
the  Law  would  be  gained  by  degrees;  truths  great  and 
revolutionary  are  not  grasped  in  a  moment.  The 
emphasis  that  Luke  puts  upon  the  day  in  Pisidian 
Antioch  when  Paul  and  Barnabas  said  "  We  turn 
to  the  Gentiles"  (Acts  13:4G),  indicates  that  then 
was  the  beginning  of  Gentile  work  independent  of 
the  synagogue  and  of  the  Jewish  restrictions  that 
Gentiles  must  accept  if  they  would  worship  in  the 
synagogue.  Even  so,  the  Jews,  who  did  not  admit 
devout  Gentiles  into  full  membership  unless  they 
were  circumcised,  would  be  roused  to  hostility  if  they 
heard  Paul  offer  the  gospel  to  any  Gentiles  on  the  same 
terms  as  to  themselves ;  and  doubtless  during  this  period 
he  was  more  than  once  brought  before  the  court  of  some 
synagogue,  and  after  due  trial  sentenced  to  forty  stripes 
less  one  (II  Cor.  11 :  24).  But  how  about  the  brethren 
in  Jerusalem, — wedded  as  they  were  to  the  Law,  would 
they  find  in  him  occasion  for  praising  God  (Gal.  1 :  24), 
if  they  knew  he  was  offering  Christ  without  the  Law  to 


90  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

Gentiles,  even  if  only  to  the  devout  ?  Possibly  they  did 
not  know  what  he  was  preaching,  having  received  only 
general  reports  of  his  activity  in  the  gospel ;  or  possibly 
the  effect  of  Peter's  experience  with  Cornelius  had  not 
wholly  died  away: — the  Jewish  Christians  grew  more 
bitter  against  Gentiles  as  years  went  on  and  Roman 
procurators  were  increasingly  oppressive.  And  after 
all,  Paul's  work  would  not  receive  much  attention: — 
though  he  had  pushed  out  into  the  larger  field,  he  had 
not  yet  become  the  leader  in  it,  nor  entered  upon  his 
great  struggle  against  those  who  would  place  the  yoke 
of  the  Law  upon  all  Gentile  believer^ 

4.     Paul  at  Antioch. 

At  the  northeast  corner  of  the  Mediterranean  where 
the  great  caravans  from  the  East  met  the  merchant  ves- 
sels from  the  West,  stood  Antioch,  the  third  largest  city 
in  the  Roman  world,  a  capital  of  the  province  of  Syria, 
cosmopolitan  in  the  highest  degree,  wealthy,  luxury- 
loving  and  licentious.  It  was  full  of  Jews,  for  its 
founder  had  offered  them  special  inducements  to  settle 
there;  Pid  Josephus  says  that  many  of  the  Greeks  had 
been  won  over  to  Judaism.  Nicolaus,  one  of  the  Seven 
(6:5),  we  remember,  was  a  proselyte  of  Antioch. 
Such  intimacy  between  Jew  and  Gentile  paved  the  way 
for  the  gospel  to  pass  from  the  one  to  the  other.  Jeru- 
salem, Antioch,  Rome, — these  three  cities  are  the  step- 
ping stones  along  which  Christianity  went  forward 
from  its  Jewish  cradle  to  Gentile  missions  and  thence 
to  world  dominion. 

Christian  teachers,  driven  from  Jerusalem  when 
Stephen  was  martyred,  travelled  northward  along  the 
coast  to  Phoenicia  and  Cyprus  and  Antioch  speaking 
the  word  to  Jews  only ;  but  later  there  came  to  Antioch 


PAUL  PREACHING  THE  FAITH  91 

certain  evangelists  who  made  bold  to  offer  the  gospel 
of  the  Lord  Jesus  to — whom  ?  The  answer  to  this  ques- 
tion is  important  because  on  it  rests  the  whole  point  of 
the  narrative.  Many  manuscripts,  followed  by  the 
King  James  version,  say  Hellenists,  i.e.,  Greek-speaking 
Jews;  but  this  is  absurd,  for  the  church  was  already 
full  of  Hellenists,  and  the  evangelists  themselves,  being 
from  Cyprus  and  Cyrene,  were  doubtless  Hellenists. 
Other  manuscripts  and  the  Eevised  Version  say  Greeks ; 
this  seems  correct,  but  who  are  meant  by  Greeks  ?  Ap- 
parently those  God-fearing  Gentiles  to  whom  the  syna- 
gogues were  open;  Luke  seems  in  general  to  use  the 
term  Greeks  for  them,  and  the  term  Gentiles  for  the 
other  heathen  (e.g.,  14:1-2;  18:4;  13:46;  14:27). 
The  Jews  would  not  admit  these  Greeks  into  full  mem- 
bership of  the  synagogue  unless  they  were  circumcised ; 
but  the  evangelists  at  Antioch  dared  to  offer  them 
Christ  without  the  Law.  Peter  had  done  this  with  Cor- 
nelius ;  and  Luke  puts  the  preaching  at  Antioch  immedi- 
ately after  his  account  of  the  conversion  of  Cornelius 
because  the  one  followed  the  other  logically  as  well  as 
chronologically.  Out  of  the  labours  of  these  two  bands 
of  missionaries  grew  a  church  in  Antioch  made  up  of 
both  Jews  and  Greeks,  and  gradually  it  grew  to  such  a 
size  as  to  attract  the  attention  of  the  church  at  Jeru- 
salem and  make  them  send  Barnabas  to  it.  Their  selec- 
tion of  him  shows  that  they  were  not  disposed  to  cen- 
sure this  new  phase  of  Christian  work,  since  by  char- 
acter as  well  as  by  birth  (4:  36)  he  might  be  expected 
to  sympathize  with  it;  and  he  seems  to  have  been  sent 
as  a  helper  rather  than  as  an  inspector,  for  he  did  not 
return  to  Jerusalem  to  make  a  report.  His  coming  was 
truly  a  great  help,  and  under  his  hearty  approval  and 
exhortation  the  church  increased  until  another  helper 


92  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

was  needed.  Then,  feeling  sure  from  what  lie  had  seen 
of  Paul  in  Jerusalem  and  heard  about  him  since,  that 
he  was  the  fit  man,  Barnabas  went  to  Tarsus  to  learn 
his  whereabouts,  and  having  sought  and  found  him, 
brought  him  to  Antioch.  There  for  fully  a  year  they 
laboured  together  most  successfully,  and  thus  developed 
that  mutual  understanding  and  sympathy  which  fitted 
them  to  be  yoke-fellows  in  a  future  mission  tour. 

Luke  notes  that  the  disciples  were  called  Christians 
first  in  Antioch.  The  outsiders  gave  them  this  name; 
and  the  invention  of  it  shows  that  the  new  movement 
was  being  talked  about,  and  its  distinctness  from  Juda- 
ism noticed.  These  men,  so  the  Antiochans  reasoned, 
who  call  themselves  disciples,  brethren,  believers,  the 
elect,  saints,  cannot  be  a  Jewish  sect  because  they  admit 
uncircumcised  Gentiles  into  their  communion ;  and  they 
cannot  be  a  Gentile  sect,  else  Jews  would  not  join 
them: — what  then  are  they?  They  profess  to  be  fol- 
lowers of  a  certain  Jesus  whom  they  call  the  Christ; 
very  good,  since  they  are  forever  preaching  about  this 
Christ,  let  us  call  them  Christians.  It  was  a  name  ap- 
plied in  ridicule  (cf.  26:28;  I  Pet.  4:16),  like 
Quaker,  Puritan,  Methodist ;  and  like  these  was  borne 
by  men  who  glorified  God  in  that  name  until  the  name 
itself  became  glorious.  At  the  outset  it  seems  to  have 
been  specially  a  name  for  Gentile  converts,  and  not  ap- 
plied to  Jewish  believers  until  later ;  an  early  fragment 
speaks  of  ^'  Christians  and  Jews  confessing  Christ " 
(Hamack). 

During  the  reign  of  Claudius  (a.d.  41-54)  there  were 
scanty  harvests  and  severe  famines  in  various  parts  of 
the  Eoman  empire.  Josephus  tells  that  Palestine  was 
famine-stricken  about  a.d.  45,  and  that  Helena,  a  queen 
and  proselyte  who  came  to  Jerusalem  for  worship,  sent 


PAUL  PREACHING  THE  FAITH  93 

to  Egpjt  for  food  and  distributed  it  among  the  suffer- 
ing. A  similar  work  of  relief  was  put  through  by  the 
church  at  Antioch.  Having  been  warned  of  the  im- 
pending famine  by  Agabus,  a  prophet  who  came  with 
others  from  Jerusalem,  they  raised  a  fund — perhaps  at 
the  suggestion  of  Barnabas  whose  generosity  had  been 
shown  earlier  (Acts  4:  36  f.), — and,  in  accordance  with 
this  ^'revelation"  (Gal.  2:2),  when  the  cry  of  hunger 
came,  sent  food  by  Barnabas  and  Paul  to  the  stricken 
brethren  in  Judea.  This  generous  expression  of  sym- 
pathy was  doubly  helpful  to  the  church  in  Jerusalem  be- 
cause just  before  the  famine  they  had  passed  through  an 
hour  of  anguish.  In  44  a.d.  Herod  iVgrippa,  grandson 
of  Herod  the  Great  and  now  entrusted  by  the  Romans 
with  all  his  domain,  put  to  death  James,  the  brother 
of  John.  On  what  grounds  he  did  this,  we  do  not  know ; 
but  he  was  enough  of  a  Jew  to  hate  the  Christians,  and 
enough  of  a  diplomat  to  wish  to  please  the  Pharisees 
who  were  now  in  high  power.  Next  he  imprisoned 
Peter,  intending  to  put  him  to  death  after  the  Passover ; 
but  the  apostle  was  released  from  prison  by  a  miracle, 
and  saved  his  life  by  flight.  The  speedy  death  of  Herod 
(12:20-23)  stopped  the  persecution;  Peter  wa?  able 
to  return,  and  the  church  resumed  its  normal  life;  yet 
the  death  of  James  remained  a  source  of  perplexity  and 
consternation  as  well  as  of  sorrow.  Until  this  tragedy 
they  had  taken  for  granted  that  Jesus  would  soon  come, 
and  the  apostles  would  care  for  the  flock  until  He  came ; 
but  now  that  one  of  the  Twelve  was  dead,  what  should 
they  think  about  the  future?  Their  whole  scheme  of 
time  and  work  before  the  coming  of  the  Lord  must  be 
reconstructed, — who  could  say  how? 


94  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 


5.    The  Case  of  Titus. 

At  the  famine  visit  we  place  an  important  episode, 
told  by  Paul  in  his  letter  to  the  Galatians  (2:  1-10), — 
the  controversy  over  Titus.  That  it  was  at  this  time 
and  not  during  the  later  council  visit  (Acts  15:2  f.) 
seems  evident  when  we  consider  the  purpose  for  which 
Paul  tells  it.  His  enemies  in  Galatia  had  declared  that 
his  gospel  was  an  imperfect  one,  gained  at  second  hand 
from  the  apostles  and  not  directly  from  Jesus;  so  to 
refute  this  slander  he  recounts  his  visits  to  Jerusalem 
before  he  preached  to  the  Galatians,  and  tells  what  he 
received  from  the  apostles  at  each  visit.  He  needs  to 
say  nothing  about  the  council  visit,  because  that  took 
place  after  he  had  first  visited  Galatia;  but  to  keep 
silent  about  the  famine  visit  would  have  been  a  fatal 
omission,  for  his  enemies  would  certainly  point  it  out 
against  him.  On  the  other  hand,  Luke  says  nothing 
about  the  case  of  Titus  because  the  case  of  Cornelius, 
which  he  reports  so  fully,  covers  the  same  ground. 
Indeed,  for  some  inexplicable  reason  Luke  nowhere  in 
his  narrative  mentions  Titus. 

When  Barnabas  and  Paul  came  with  food  for  the 
famishing  brethren  they  delivered  it  to  the  elders,  but 
naturally  remained  to  aid  in  its  distribution  (11:  30; 
12:25).  From  Antioch  they  had  brought  with  them 
Titus,  one  of  Paul's  Gentile  converts  (Titus  1 :  4)  who, 
judging  from  glimpses  of  his  later  career  (II  Cor. 
7 :  6  f. ;  8 :  16  f. ;  Titus  1 :  5),  was  an  able  assistant  and 
a  fine  representative  of  Gentile  Christians.  While  the 
majority  of  the  church  received  him  without  question, 
certain  influential  members  ("false  brethren,"  Paul 
calls  them  because  they  lacked  the  spirit  of  Christ),  the 
same  or  of  the  same  party  who  assailed  Peter  for  eating 


PAUL  PREACHING  THE  FAITH  95 

with  Cornelius  (11:2),  abhorred  him  because  he  was 
a  Gentile.  They  seem  to  have  resorted  to  sly  and  con- 
temptible ways  of  discovering  whether  Paul  and  Bar- 
nabas treated  him  as  a  brother,  and  then  to  have  gone 
to  the  apostles  demanding  that  if  he  were  to  be  admitted 
into  the  Christian  brotherhood,  he  must  first  become  a 
Jew  by  submitting  to  circumcision.  The  apostles  agreed 
to  this,  as  the  easiest  way  to  preserve  harmony,  and 
with  a  show  of  authority  insisted  that  Barnabas  and 
Paul  agree  to  it.  For  the  moment  it  looked  as  if  a  few 
narrow-minded  men  would  put  an  end  to  '^  our  liberty 
which  we  have  in  Christ  Jesus  "  (Gal.  2 :  4), — a  tragedy 
repeated  many  times  since  apostolic  days.  The  treach- 
ery of  these  sneaking  brethren  and  the  truckling  of  the 
apostles  made  Paul  thoroughly  indignant; — he  cannot 
write  about  the  matter  years  afterwards  without  being 
stirred  afresh.  And  the  case  of  Titus  involved  the 
whole  work  among  the  Gentiles  and  the  truth  of  the 
gospel  itself ;  for,  if  the  apostles  and  the  church  in  Jeru- 
salem insisted  that  to  become  a  Christian  a  Gentile  must 
first  become  a  Jew,  the  message  that  through  faith  all 
men  may  become  sons  of  God  in  Christ  Jesus  would  be 
discredited,  and  the  conversion  of  the  Gentiles  hindered 
so  much  that  Paul  might  well  fear  he  would  be  running 
or  had  run  in  vain  (Id.  2 ;  2). 

Promptly  rousing  to  the  defence  of  his  convert,  Paul 
gave,  possibly  in  some  public  meeting,  a  statement  of 
the  gospel  he  preached  among  the  Gentiles,  and  then 
took  up  the  case  of  Titus  in  a  private  conference  with 
the  three  leaders  of  the  church,  James,  the  brother  of 
Jesus,  Peter  and  John.  The  discussion  must  have 
been  long,  anxious  and  perhaps  heated ;  but  the  call  of 
Paul  to  go  to  the  Gentiles  and  the  grace  that  had  been 
given  him,  both  in  his  own  spiritual  experiences  and  in 


96  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

the  fruits  already  reaped  in  Gentile  lands,  could  not  be 
denied  (Id.  2 ;  9)  ;  and  the  lessons  Peter  had  learned  in 
the  case  of  Cornelius  were  not  forgotten.  Accordingly 
it  was  agreed  that  Titus  need  not  be  circumcised, — in 
other  words,  since  his  was  really  a  test  case,  that  Gen- 
tiles could  be  Christians  without  shouldering  the  burden 
of  the  Law.  The  decision  was  momentous, — so  im- 
portant that  some  declare  that,  had  it  not  been  reached, 
the  Christians  would  never  have  been  more  than  a  small 
Jewish  sect.  This  is  too  strong  a  statement.  The 
gospel  seed  had  now  been  planted  in  Gentile  soil,  and 
had  a  power  of  life  and  growth  independent  of  the 
church  at  Jerusalem.  But  certainly  the  immediate 
progress  of  Christianity  and  its  whole  future  course 
hinged  on  the  decision,  though  doubtless  the  apostles 
and  probably  Paul  himself  could  not  yet  clearly  see  this. 
The  decision  in  the  case  of  Titus  was  a  triumph  for 
Paul.  But  it  was  not  accepted  by  the  whole  church; 
the  "  false  brethren  "  and  their  party  still  refused  to 
admit  that  uncircumcised  Gentiles  could  be  true  Chris- 
tians, and  sought  opportunity  to  bring  them  under  the 
Law.  Moreover,  as  in  the  case  of  Cornelius,  some  most 
important  questions  were  left  unanswered.  If  Gentile 
Christians  need  not  keep  the  Law,  must  Jewish  Chris- 
tians keep  it  ?  The  church  at  Jerusalem  would  not  raise 
this  question ;  they  took  for  granted  that  a  Jew  was  not 
released  from  obedience  to  the  Law  when  he  accepted 
Jesus  as  his  Lord  and  Saviour.  Paul  did  not  care  to 
raise  it ;  he  was  concerned  only  for  his  Gentile  converts ; 
though  had  he  been  asked,  his  answer  would  have  been, 
"  In  Christ  Jesus  neither  circumcision  availeth  any- 
thing nor  uncircumcision :  let  each  man  abide  in  that 
calling  wherein  he  was  called "  (Gal.  5:6;  I  Cor. 
7:18-20).     Again,   if  Gentiles   are  received  into  the 


PAUL  PREACHING  THE  FAITH  97 

church  without  circumcision,  how  can  a  Jewish  Chris- 
tian associate  with  them?  This  question  was  i^ored 
because  the  Gentile  field  seemed  far  away,  and  Barna- 
bas and  Paul  were  restricted  to  it.  Once  more,  though 
a  Gentile  Christian  need  not  keep  the  Law,  is  he  as 
good  a  Christian  as  if  he  did  keep  it?  If  he  is  not, 
then  the  Law  may  be  enjoined  upon  him  as  a  means  of 
perfection,  though  not  as  an  essential  of  salvation. 
Evidently  the  decision  concerning  Titus  had  by  no 
means  ended  all  possible  dispute,  nor  fully  determined 
the  status  of  the  Gentile  Christians;  by  it  Paul  had 
gained  for  them  liberty,  but  not  yet  fraternity  or 
equality.    The  struggle  for  these  was  yet  to  come. 

The  discussion  that  arose  over  Titus  resulted  in  an- 
other important  decision.  Paul  and  Barnabas  had 
clearly  been  called  of  God  to  work  among  Gentiles. 
They  should  be  given  the  right  hands  of  fellowship. 
But  since  their  presence  and  teachings  might  irritate 
many  Jewish  brethren,  and  would  certainly  prejudice 
all  unconverted  Jews  against  Christianity,  they  must 
refrain  from  work  in  Palestine.  The  division  was  of 
territory  rather  than  of  race ;  for  they  preached  to  Jews 
as  well  to  Gentiles  outside  the  Holy  Land.  And  it 
was  of  only  transient  duration;  for  while  they  never 
again,  so  far  as  we  know,  undertook  evangelistic  work 
in  Palestine,  Peter  and  John,  on  the  other  hand,  spent 
their  last  years  as  missionaries  in  foreign  lands.  It  is 
amusing  to  notice  that  while  thus  shutting  out  Paul 
and  Barnabas  from  future  work  in  Jerusalem,  the 
apostles  were  anxious  not  to  shut  out  any  future  gifts 
they  might  bring  to  the  parent  church.  The  wish  was 
plainly  stated,  almost  as  a  condition  of  future  fellow- 
ship, that  they  continue  to  remember  the  poor  (Gal. 
2 :  10).    A  collection  plate  is  seldom  willingly  exclusive. 


VI 

PAUL'S  FIRST  MISSIOl^ARY  JOUIi:t^EY 

CHRISTIANITY  had  been  quietly  spreading 
teyond  the  borders  of  Palestine  until  doubtless 
it  had  reached  Rome  itself;  but  that  which  we 
oall  PauFs  first  missionary  journey,  because  his  pre- 
vious journeys  are  unrecorded,  is  our  introduction  to  its 
activities  in  the  Gentile  world.  From  now  on  we  shall 
be  occupied  mainly  in  watching  its  battles  and  cam- 
paigns in  this  larger  domain.  To  the  early  Christians 
the  Roman  empire  seemed  to  be  the  whole  of  the  habit- 
able world;  the  regions  that  lay  beyond  it  were  too 
vaguely  known  to  awaken  their  interest.  Its  magnifi- 
cence and  power  deeply  impressed  them ;  and  that  these 
should  perish  before  the  end  of  the  earth  itself  was  al- 
most unthinkable.  Thus  its  dominion  and  glory  and 
everlastingness  made  it  a  fit  symbol  of  the  spiritual  em- 
pire of  Christ;  and  to  win  it  for  Him  was  the  goal  of 
their  ambition.  Even  the  most  meager  description  of 
this  world  of  Paul's  day  requires  more  space  than  can 
be  here  given  it ;  let  us  consider  simply  certain  features 
and  facts  that  directly  influenced  the  spread  of  Chris- 
tianity. 

1.     The  Roman  World 

In  many  ways  the  Roman  empire  was  much  divided 

and  heterogeneous.     There  was  the  great  division  into 

Bast  and  West,  arising  from  character  and  history,  and 

made  evident  later  by  the  splitting  of  the  empire.    We 

speak  of  the  Graeco-Roman  world;  reaEy  it  was  Ori- 

98 


pauus  first  missionary  journey    99 

ental,  Greek  and  Roman,  even  as  the  inscription  on  the 
cross  was  in  Aramaic,  Greek  and  Latin.  Then  there 
was  the  subdivision  into  many  provinces,  distinct  in 
forms  of  local  government,  dialects,  customs  and  re- 
ligions. Rome  purposely  left  the  individuality  of  these 
provinces  unchanged,  and — save  for  her  common  rule 
over  all — they  were  as  distinct  as  the  different  states 
of  Europe  to-day.  This  made  mission  work  difficult; 
a  journey  of  a  few  hours  might  be  for  the  worker  a 
change  as  great  as  passing  from  France  into  Spain. 
Yet  there  were  strong  unifying  elements.  The  emperor 
was  the  universal  head,  the  senate  being  increasingly  a 
mere  puppet;  and  Roman  law  and  privileges  were  at 
the  service  of  Roman  citizens  everywhere.  Greek  was 
spoken  by  all  educated  persons  save  in  the  extreme  West 
where  Latin  took  its  place;  and  by  this  first  century  it 
had  been  simplified  and  suited  to  commercial  and  social 
life,  though  still  retaining  its  marvellous  flexibility  and 
power  to  express  delicate  shades  of  thought.  The  mis- 
sionary who  spoke  Greek  could  preach  in  any  city ;  but 
he  was  dumb  in  the  illiterate  country  regions  unless  he 
knew  the  local  dialect.  This  is  one  reason  why  Chris- 
tianity kept  to  the  cities  so  long  that  the  word  country- 
man (paganus)  came  to  mean  a  heathen.  Magnificent 
highways  starting  from  Rome  stretched  to  the  farthest 
borders;  and  travel  on  them  was  easy,  incessant  and 
comparatively  safe.  Though  they  were  built  for  mili- 
tary purposes,  they  formed  the  great  channels  along 
which  the  gospel  flowed;  indeed,  the  smaller  roads  to 
the  right  or  the  left  were  almost  impassable, — another 
reason  why  country  regions  did  not  at  first  receive  the 
gospel.  Except  in  the  winter  season  there  was,  also,  a 
well  organized  sea  service  for  travellers  all  around  the 
Mediterranean. 


100  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

Society  was  divided  into  three  classes : — the  nobles, — 
wealthy,  powerful  and  usually  corrupt;  the  common 
people, — ig-norant  but  generally  virtuous  and  contented ; 
and  the  slaves, — most  numerous,  wretched  and  a  source 
of  corruption  and  danger.  In  the  provinces,  however, 
life  was  far  more  sane  and  conditions  more  wholesome 
than  in  the  city  of  Rome  and  its  immediate  vicinity. 
Everywhere  books  were  plenty,  easily  multiplied  by 
trained  copyists,  and  therefore  cheap;  yet  the  period 
was  one  of  intellectual  decline.  The  Roman  policy 
failed  in  popular  education;  schools  were  supported 
only  by  fees  or  endowments,  and  the  states  provided  little 
for  the  masses  except  amusements,  which  often  were 
brutalizing.  The  work  of  our  modern  charities  was 
done  by  associations  for  mutual  benefit,  the  commonest 
of  which  were  burial  societies;  Christianity  sometimes 
sheltered  itself  under  these,  since  the  government  in 
its  fear  of  independent  organizations  forbade  all  others. 

Though  Rome  allowed  the  races  and  regions  to  follow 
their  own  religions,  it  knew  nothing  of  our  modern  idea 
of  religious  freedom.  It  maintained  supervision  and 
control  of  all  worship,  save  when  the  frenzied  votaries 
of  some  Oriental  goddess  defied  all  restraints;  and  to 
a  degree  it  assimilated  the  foreign  deities.  The  old 
religions  were  still  active,  strong  in  priests  and  rich  in 
temples;  but  they  had  largely  lost  their  hold  on  the 
educated  people,  who  had  now  advanced  to  a  point 
where  they  regarded  the  stories  about  the  gods  as  intel- 
lectually absurd  and  ethically  revolting.  Loss  of  faith 
had  its  usual  effect  of  increasing  superstition  and 
strange  cults;  yet  that  the  world  was  hungering  for  a 
higher  and  a  universal  religion  was  shown  by  its  inter- 
est in  Judaism,  and  by  the  spread  of  the  mystery  re- 
ligions.    It  longed  for  a  clearer  revelation  of  one  su- 


PAUL'S  FIRST  MISSIONARY  JOURNEY    101 

preme  God,  for  relief  from  the  despair  of  conscious  sin 
and  failure,  for  a  purer  morality  based  on  divine  com- 
mands, and  for  assurance  of  immortality  with  appro- 
priate rewards  and  punishments.  Judaism  offered 
these,  and  gained  many  proselytes;  but  Judaism  was 
in  spirit  exclusive  and  in  outward  forms  repelling.  The 
mystery  religions  were  more  liberal  and  attractive. 
Those  of  Eleusis,  Isis,  Mithra  and  Cybele-Attis  were 
the  most  popular,  and  were  the  strongest  rivals  of  Chris- 
tianity. Their  ceremony  of  initiation  included  some 
form  of  baptism  with  water  or  blood  by  which  the  im- 
purities of  the  past  life  were  washed  away ;  and  the 
oaths  taken  by  the  initiate  were  promises  to  live  a  purer, 
higher  life.  By  such  initiation  he  was  made  a  partner 
of  the  god,  and  in  this  partnership  was  his  assurance  of 
immortality.  But  the  mystery  religions  were  popular 
in  proportion  as  they  appealed  to  the  senses  and  the  pas- 
sions. The  worshippers  indulged  in  frenzied  worship 
of  their  god,  and  sought  by  dances  or  drink  or  emo- 
tional excitement  to  produce  a  consciousness  of  his  or 
her  presence.  In  many  respects  these  religions  were 
pernicious,  and  were  often  under  the  ban.  Educated 
men  turned  to  philosophy,  finding  there — especially  in 
the  teachings  of  Plato  and  the  Stoics — a  foundation  for 
belief  in  one  supreme  God  and  the  probability  of  life 
beyond  the  grave.  But  philosophy  was  cold,  uninspir- 
ing and  uncertain;  it  served  for  the  study  but  not  for 
the  home  and  the  shops.  Christianity  came  into  the 
midst  of  these  seekers  after  God  and  light  on  the  life 
beyond.  ^'  The  appeal  of  philosophy  to  the  intellect,  the 
charm  of  the  mystery  religions  for  the  senses,  the  eth- 
ical demands  of  Judaism  upon  the  will,  were  all  found 
in  the  highest  and  purest  form  combined  in  the  Chris- 
tian   religion."      And    wherever    it    was    offered     sin- 


102  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

burdened  men  and  women  eagerly  stretched  out  their 
hands  for  it. 

Nevertheless,  there  were  many  hindrances  to  the 
spread  of  the  new  religion.  Emperor  worship  was  en- 
joined upon  all  except  the  Jews;  and  because  it  was 
patriotic  as  well  as  religious,  refusal  by  Gentile  Chris- 
tians and  later  on  by  any  Christian  to  join  in  it  was 
treasonable.  All  social  engagements  and  all  business 
transactions  were  accompanied  with  religious  rites  in 
which  a  Christian  could  not  join;  this  shut  him  out 
from  the  life  of  his  neighbours,  and  caused  the  frequent 
charge  that  Christians  were  "  morose  "  and  ^'  haters  of 
mankind."  The  heathen  religions  were  turned  into  a 
means  of  money-making;  men  would  attempt  to  do  the 
same  with  Christianity,  as  did  Simon  Mag-us,  or  would 
bitterly  assail  those  who  interfered  with  their  heathen 
profits, — as  Paul  experienced  in  Philippi  and  Ephesus. 
These  moneyed  interests  of  pagan  religions  reached  out 
in  most  unexpected  directions : — Pliny  notes  that  since 
his  persecution  of  the  Christians  there  has  been  a  great 
increase  in  the  demand  for  fodder  for  the  cattle  of  the 
sacrifices!  Religion  was  deemed  a  thing  apart  from 
morals ;  hence,  as  Paul's  letters  constantly  reveal,  a  man 
might  suppose  that  he  could  be  a  good  Christian  and 
still  indulge  in  theft,  adultery  and  the  like.  Also,  men 
adopted  new  religions  in  addition  to  their  old  ones,  and 
would  be  disposed  to  accept  Christianity  without  giv- 
ing up  heathen  ideas  and  practices.  The  Eastern  cidts 
which  were  pressing  into  the  West  were  the  most  active 
and  dangerous  rivals  of  Christianity.  On  the  one 
hand,  they  were  ready  to  annex  certain  Christian 
features  to  their  own  motley  teachings,  and  then  offer 
the  whole  as  a  higher,  esoteric  form  of  Christianity; 
and  on  the  other  hand,  the  ban  which  the  government 


PAUL'S  FIRST  MISSIONARY  JOURNEY    103 

with  good  reason  placed  on  these  Oriental  cults  fell 
upon  Christianity  also,  as  soon  as  its  distinctness  from 
Judaism  was  seen.  This  distinctness  became  evident 
slowly;  but  after  the  fall  of  Jerusalem  (a.d.  70)  it 
was  unmistakable,  and  the  Jews  themselves  were 
vindictive  in  calling  attention  to  it.  Henceforth,  the 
privileges  granted  to  Christianity  as  supposedly  a 
Jewish  sect  were  withdrawn ;  and  Roman  rulers  in 
proportion  to  their  laudable  energy  in  enforcing  the 
laws  were  active  in  persecuting  the  Christians. 

2.    The  Call  and  the  Tour  Through  Cyprus. 

When  Barnabas  and  Paul  returned  from  their  min- 
istration in  Jerusalem,  they  took  with  them  John 
Mark,  a  cousin  of  Barnabas  (12:25;  Col.  4:10). 
This  indicates  that  already  they  were  planning  a  work 
in  which  he  could  assist  them;  and  we  may  be  sure  it 
was  the  work  among  Gentiles,  handed  over  to  them  by 
the  apostles.  We  are  not  surprised,  therefore,  to  find 
that  soon  after  they  reached  Antioch  and  reported  what 
had  been  done  in  Jerusalem,  they  started  forth  on  a 
journey  through  the  neighbouring  Gentile  lands.  With 
this  journey  begins  a  new  chapter  in  the  history  of 
Christianity, — that  of  deliberate,  organized  work  in 
foreign  missions.  Whatever  had  been  done  hitherto, 
save  in  the  instance  of  Cornelius,  had  originated  in 
persecution,  and  been  carried  on  unsystematically ;  but 
now  the  church,  guided  by  the  Holy  Spirit  appoints 
missionaries  and  sends  them  forth.  Luke  shows  his 
feeling  of  the  importance  of  this  new  step  by  the 
formal  way  in  which  he  introduces  his  account  of  the 
journey.  We  need  not  suppose  there  was  anything 
miraculous  in  the  call  of  these  two  men  to  go  forth  as 
missionaries.     Like  all  such  calls  it  came  when  oppor- 


104  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

tunity  and  ability  combined  to  create  duty ;  and  it  was 
voiced  by  the  whisper  of  the  Holy  Spirit  and  by  the 
Lord  speaking  through  the  church. 

Antioch  was  the  gateway  by  land  or  sea  to  the 
regions  of  the  West;  among  its  Christians  were  men 
of  prominence  like  Manaen,  the  foster-brother  of 
Herod  the  tetrarch;  there  was  financial  ability  to  sup- 
port mission  workers,  as  was  shown  by  the  contribu- 
tion to  famine  relief.  No  wonder,  then,  that  when  the 
^Ye  prophets  and  teachers  of  the  church  were  engaged 
in  the  regular  services  or  in  some  special,  solemn  gath- 
ering for  light  upon  their  duty  towards  the  Gentile 
lands,  it  was  divinely  borne  in  upon  them  that  Barna- 
bas and  Paul  should  be  released  from  all  other  occupa- 
tions and  sent  forth  as  foreign  missionaries.  To  send 
them  was  a  sacrificial  act,  for  Barnabas  was  the  be- 
loved head  of  the  church  and  Paul  was  the  ablest  of 
them  all;  and  it  was  a  solemn  act,  for  they  knew  the 
perils  these  two  men  might  encounter.  Naturally  the 
whole  church  fasted  and  prayed  before  they  laid  hands 
upon  them  and  sent  them  away,  entrusting  them  to  the 
grace  of  God  (14:26).  Whether  the  laying  on  of 
hands  was  ordination  or  benediction  is  one  of  those  de- 
lightful questions  over  which  discussion  can  go  on,  if 
good-natured,  interminably.  They  went  forth  as  mis- 
sionaries of  the  Antiochian  church : — we  know  this  be- 
cause, not  only  do  they  make  a  full  report  to  that 
church  upon  their  return  (14:27),  but  in  this  jour- 
ney, and  only  in  this,  Luke  calls  both  of  them  apostles 
(14:  4,  14),  a  title  that  could  not  be  given  to  Barnabas 
unless  he  was  the  apostle,  i.e.,  the  missionary,  of  the 
church  in  Antioch  (cf.  II  Cor.  8:23).  Doubtless  the 
expenses  of  the  journey  were  borae  by  the  church,  and 
generously  according  to  the  spirit  shown  in  the  famine 


PAUL'S  FIRST  MISSIONARY  JOURNEY    105 

gift.  On  his  next  journey  Paul  was  not  sent  by  the 
church,  and  had  to  labour  for  his  bread  or  accept  gifts 
from  friends.  Whether  at  this  time  he  reckoned  him- 
self an  apostle  of  the  same  rank  as  the  Twelve  is  doubt- 
ful. Nothing  indicates  that  he  had  been  so  reckoned 
by  them  in  the  discussion  over  Titus  or  at  any  later 
period.  Indeed,  they  would  find  it  hard  to  believe  that 
their  peculiar  position  and  privileges  could  be  shared 
by  anyone  who  had  not  been  formally  appointed,  as 
was  Matthias,  or  that  their  number  could  be  greater 
than  that  originally  fixed  by  the  Lord.  And  Paul  him- 
self, though  later  on  he  stoutly  maintained  his  equality 
with  Peter  and  the  rest,  probably  came  slowly  to  recog- 
nize it  and  claim  it,  as  the  greatness  of  the  Gentile 
work  and  his  unique  position  in  it  dawned  upon  him. 

It  was  at  the  opening  of  navigation  in  the  spring  of 
46  A.D. — if  we  may  fix  a  date  where  dates  are  so  un- 
certain— that  Baraabas  and  Paul,  taking  with  them 
John  Mark  as  their  assistant,  went  down  to  the  sea- 
port, Seleucia,  and  sailed  to  Cyprus.  Barnabas  was 
the  leader,  Cyprus  was  his  native  island,  and  it  was 
a  stronghold  of  the  Jews;  hence  the  decision  to  begin 
work  there.  Landing  at  Salamis  and  using  the  syna- 
gogues as  their  preaching-places,  they  made  a  sys- 
tematic tour  of  the  island  clear  to  its  capital  and 
westernmost  city,  Paphos, — in  all  at  least  one  hundred 
miles.  Luke's  silence  as  to  results  indicates  that  the 
preaching  met  with  little  response,  not  even  arousing 
hostility.  It  would  be  done  mainly  by  Barnabas  as 
leader;  and  either  he  lacked  experience  in  pioneer 
work,  or  his  kindly  nature  drew  back  from  controversy 
such  as  Paul  was  ever  ready  to  engage  in.  Neverthe- 
less, there  was  enough  promise  in  the  work  to  make 
Barnabas  choose  this  field  again  some  two  years  later. 


106  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

At  Paphos  Paul  came  to  the  front.  The  proconsul 
residing  there,  Sergius  Paulus,  was  a  man  of  varied 
interests,  who  had  already  attached  to  his  court  a  Jew, 
Bar-Jesus,  calling  himself  Elymas,  i.e.,  a  magus,  and 
like  Simon  Magus  making  his  living  by  a  mixture  of 
real  knowledge  and  arrant  imposture;  and  when  the 
two  itinerant  preachers  reached  his  capital,  he  sum- 
moned them  to  tell  him  about  the  religion  they  were 
proclaiming.  As  the  Roman  ruler  listened  with  evi- 
dent approval  to  the  words  of  Barnabas  and  Saul,  the 
magTis  feared  that  he  might  be  supplanted  in  favour 
by  these  new  teachers,  and  began  to  interrupt  and  con- 
tradict, doubtless  setting  the  Jewish  ideas  of  the  Mes- 
siah against  the  Christian.  Paul  best  knew  how  to 
deal  with  such  an  opponent.  Silencing  him  with  a 
look,  he  denounced  his  craft  and  villainy  in  strongest 
terms,  and  with  prophetic  insight  declared,  "  The  hand 
of  the  Lord  is  upon  thee,  and  thou  shalt  be  blind,  not 
seeing  the  sun  for  a  season."  At  once  upon  the  eyes 
of  the  magus  there  fell  a  mist  increasing  to  utter  dark- 
ness; and  as  all  bystanders  shrank  away  in  horror,  he 
groped  about  seeking  a  hand  to  lead  him.  To  main- 
tain, as  some  do,  that  the  blindness  of  Elymas  was 
simply  spiritual  is  to  forget  that  spiritual  blindness 
was  too  universal  to  be  impressive,  and,  also,  that  a 
false  prophet  and  worker  of  pretended  miracles  could 
best  be  exposed  by  true  prophecy  and  a  real  miracle. 
There  was  mercy  as  well  as  judgTQent  in  Paul's  sen- 
tence,— ^the  blindness  was  to  last  only  until  the  time 
when  penitence  and  faith  should  remove  it.  Paul's 
own  experience  of  blinded  eyes  made  him  merciful. 
The  teaching  and  the  miracle  caused  the  proconsul  to 
believe;  but  apparently  it  did  not  lead  him  to  open 
confession  of  faith  and  baptism.    That  step  would  have 


PAUL'S  FIRST  MISSIONARY  JOURNEY    107 

forced  him  to  resign  his  office;  for  the  duties  of  a 
Roman  official  included  participation  in  heathen  rites 
and  sacrifices.  The  house  of  Ilimmon  is  a  very  an- 
cient and  also  very  present  hindrance  to  would-be 
Christians. 

At  this  point  in  his  narrative  Luke  without  any  ex- 
planation makes  two  important  changes  : — henceforth 
he  uses  the  Roman  name,  Paul,  instead  of  the  Jewish 
Saul,  and  he  speaks  of  Paul  and  Bam  abas  or,  in  one 
instance,  ^'  Paul  and  his  company "  instead  of  Bar- 
nabas and  Saul.  This  is  his  quiet  way  of  indicating 
that  from  this  time  on  Paul  was  the  leader,  and  the 
work  was  mainly  among  Gentiles  where  his  Roman 
name  would  be  used. 

3.     In  Pisidian  Antioch. 

From  Paphos  the  missionaries  crossed  to  the  main- 
land, arriving  at  Perga  in  Pamphylia.  Here  John 
Mark  deserted  them  and  returned  to  his  home  in  Jeru- 
salem, possibly  because  he  did  not  like  Paul  as  leader 
and  the  new  emphasis  on  Gentile  work,  possibly  be- 
cause he  feared  the  hardships  that  lay  before  them. 
For,  instead  of  preaching  in  Pamphylia,  as  might  be 
expected  and  as  did  take  place  later,  Paul  and  Barna- 
bas hurried  northward  over  the  Taurus  mountains  by 
wretched  cross-country  roads  with  ^^  perils  of  rivers 
and  perils  of  robbers"  (II  Cor.  11:26)  fully  a  hun- 
dred miles  until  they  reached  Pisidian  Antioch.  A 
reason  for  this  most  unusual  journey,  so  out  of  the 
ordinary  routes  of  travel,  has  been  much  sought;  that 
advanced  by  Professor  Ramsay  is  most  probable.  He 
supposes  that  in  the  hot,  marshy  plains  of  Pamphylia 
Paul  was  stricken  with  malaria,  and  sought  the  high- 
lands of  Galatia  for  relief.     Antioch  was  in  Galatia, 


108  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

and  Paul  says  in  his  letter  to  the  Galatians,  "  Ye  know 
that  because  of  an  infirmity  of  the  flesh  I  preached  the 
gospel  to  you  the  first  time."  Also,  one  feature  of  the 
disease  is  a  blinding  headache  '^  like  a  red  hot  bar 
thrust  through  the  forehead,"  and  Paul  reminds  the 
Galatians  that  when  he  first  came  among  them  "  If 
possible  ye  would  have  plucked  out  your  own  eyes  and 
given  them  to  me"  (Gal.  4:  14  f.).  If  this  was  his 
disease,  and  if,  as  is  likely,  it  recurred  from  time  to 
time,  we  may  believe  that  these  blinding,  disabling 
headaches  were  the  "  thorn  in  the  flesh,"  which  he 
prayed  might  depart,  and  through  which  he  learned  by 
experience  that  God's  power  is  made  perfect  in  weak- 
ness (II  Cor.  12:7  f.). 

The  Antioch  that  Paul  and  Barnabas  had  now 
reached  was  one  of  several  cities  bearing  the  name,  and 
was  known  as  the  Pisidian  Antioch  because,  though  in 
Phrygia,  it  lay  close  to  the  borders  of  Pisidia.  These 
old  national  lines,  however,  had  been  disregarded  by 
the  Komans  when  they  divided  Asia  Minor  into  prov- 
inces; and  Antioch,  Iconium,  Lystra  and  Derbe — all 
on  the  highway  from  Ephesus  to  Antioch  in  Syria — 
were  at  this  time  included  in  the  great  Koman  province 
of  Galatia.  Pisidian  Antioch  had  been  founded  about 
300  B.C.  as  a  Greek  city  with  the  usual  welcome  to 
Jews;  and  about  6  b.c.  Augustus  had  made  it  a  Koman 
colony  and  settled  veteran  soldiers  there.  A  Koman 
colony  was  considered  to  be  a  part  of  the  city  of  Kome, 
enjoying  the  same  constitution,  citizenship  and  use  of 
Latin  in  its  official  business  as  the  imperial  city.  Its 
purpose  was  to  aid  in  Koman  control  of  the  country 
and  in  Latinizing  the  people,  and  its  privileges  were 
highly  prized.    Such  a  city  would  be  a  good  center  for 


PAUL'S  FIRST  MISSIONARY  JOURNEY    109 

missionary  work  because  of  its  liberal  tbought  and  its 
influence  upon  the  surrounding  region. 

The  two  apostles,  while  pausing  for  some  days  in 
Antioch  for  rest  and  recovery  from  illness,  became 
known  to  their  numerous  Jewish  neighbours;  so,  when 
they  were  able  to  attend  the  synagogue,  they  were  in- 
vited to  address  the  congregation, — an  invitation  which 
Paul,  the  more  ready  speaker,  accepted.  The  fullness 
of  the  report  of  his  speech,  and  the  various  marks  of 
an  eye-witness  (e.g.,  that  he  stood  instead  of  sitting 
as  he  spoke,  beckoned  with  his  hand  to  command  atten- 
tion, withdrew  before  the  close  of  the  service)  form  a 
good  argaiment  that  Luke  was  in  the  audience, — pos- 
sibly he  had  previously  been  called  as  a  physician  to 
attend  Paul.  In  his  address  Paul  followed  much  the 
same  lines  as  Peter  at  Pentecost  and  Stephen  before 
the  Sanhedrin,  but  advanced  to  a  broad  offer  of  salva- 
tion and  a  statement  of  his  favourite  doctrine  of  justifi- 
cation by  faith.  The  warning  with  which  he  closed 
may  indicate  that  his  words  were  not  received  wholly 
with  favour;  but  as  he  went  out  from  the  synagogue 
after  speaking,  because  still  weak  from  recent  illness, 
he  was  asked  to  speak  again  the  next  Sabbath ;  and 
when  the  service  closed,  many  Jews  and  devout  Gen- 
tiles followed  the  apostles  to  their  lodgings  where  fur- 
ther explanation  of  the  gospel  was  given  them.  Before 
the  next  Sabbath  all  the  Antiochans  were  discussing 
the  new  teaching,  and  they  thronged  the  synagogue  for 
Paul's  second  address.  Such  eagerness  of  the  Gentiles 
to  learn  about  the  salvation  that  is  in  Christ  filled  the 
Jews  with  jealousy  and  suspicion;  and  they  interrupted 
the  address  with  contradictions  and  jeers  until  Paul 
and  Barnabas,  after  declaring  that  they  had  done  their 
duty  in  offering  the  word  of  God  to  the  Jews,  said  with 


lia  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

a  touch  of  sarcasm,  "  Seeing  ye  thrust  it  from  you  and 
judge  yourselves  unworthy  of  eternal  life,  lo,  we  turn 
to  the  Gentiles.'' 

"  This  incident,"  says  Dr.  Hort,  ^'  is  the  true  turn- 
ing point  at  which  a  Gentile  Christianity  formally  and 
definitely  begins."  Before  this  the  gospel  had  been 
offered  to  those  Gentiles  only  who  had  come  so  far 
toward  Judaism  as  to  worship  in  the  synagogue;  but 
now  Paul  offered  it  directly  to  those  who  stood  without 
and  with  whom  no  Jew  would  associate.  From  this 
time  on,  as  we  shall  see,  his  method  of  work  in  any 
city  was  to  begin  in  the  synagogue,  if  there  was  one, 
and  continue  there  as  long  as  the  Jews  would  allow; 
then  when  its  doors  were  closed  against  him,  as  usually 
happened  soon,  to  preach  in  Gentile  homes  and  public 
places  until  he  was  forced  to  depart.  Here  in  Antioch 
the  Gentiles  received  him  as  an  angel  of  God  (Gal. 
4;  14),  and  listened  with  gladness  when  he  portrayed 
to  them  the  crucified  Saviour  (Acts  13:  48;  Gal,  3:1). 
The  gift  of  the  Holy  Ghost  and  the  working  of  mira- 
cles in  their  midst  set  the  seal  of  divine  approval  on 
their  faith  (Gal.  3:5).  They  recognized  that  they 
were  specially  blessed,  and  in  gratitude  to  Paul  would 
have  taken  upon  themselves  his  physical  suffering 
(Gal.  4:  14  f.).  Despite  the  hostility  of  the  Jews,  the 
work  went  on  until  the  gospel  message  had  been  car- 
ried throughout  the  Phrygian  region,  of  which  Antioch 
was  the  administrative  center.  But  the  Jews  had 
powerful  allies  in  certain  Gentile  women,  probably 
Romans,  of  high  standing  who  worshipped  with  them 
and  who  now  at  their  instigation  persuaded  the  chief 
men  of  the  city  to  expel  the  apostles.  The  expulsion 
would  be  after  due  trial  for  disturbing  the  peace,  and 
with  punishment  by  scourging.     Paul  states  (II  Cor. 


PAUL'S  FIRST  MISSIONARY  JOURNEY    111 

11:25)  that  notwithstanding  his  Roman  citizenship, 
he  was  thrice  beaten  with  rods, — a  form  of  punishment 
that  the  magistrates  of  this  Roman  colony  wonld  fol- 
low.    Why  he  did  not  claim  exemption  we  cannot  tell. 

4.     In  Iconium,  Lystra  and  Derbe. 

Iconium  was  a  less  important  but  prosperous  city  of 
this  same  Phrygian  district  of  Galatia,  some  eighty 
miles  east  of  Antioch.  Hither  Paul  and  Barnabas 
made  their  way,  and  here  they  began  work  in  the  syna- 
gogue after  the  same  manner  as  in  Antioch.  Many 
Jews  as  well  as  Gentiles  became  believers ;  but  the  un- 
believing Jews  were  active  in  stirring  up  opposition 
until  the  whole  city  was  divided  into  two  parties  over 
them.  (Acts  14 :  3  seems  to  be  a  late  and  untrust- 
worthy addition: — it  comes  in  awkwardly;  it  states 
that  the  apostles  worked  a  long  time  after  the  opposi- 
tion arose,  which  is  improbable ;  and  its  vague  mention 
of  signs  and  wonders  is  unlike  Luke's  definite  descrip- 
tion of  miracles  in  this  journey.)  The  magistrates  of 
the  city,  though  unwilling  to  take  action  when  public 
sentiment  w^as  thus  divided,  would  be  glad  to  get  rid 
of  these  troublesome  strangers ;  so  the  hostile  Jews  and 
Gentiles  dared  to  lead  a  mob  assault  upon  the  apostles, 
and  forced  them  to  flee  across  the  border  to  Lystra, 
eighteen  miles  from  Iconium  and  somewhat  off  the 
main  road,  in  the  Lycaonian  district  of  Galatia.  An 
early  apocryphal  book.  The  Acts  of  Paul  and  Thekla, 
tells  the  story  of  a  young  woman  who  was  converted 
by  Paul  in  Iconium.  Its  historical  value  is  slight,  but 
it  illustrates  the  way  in  which  Christianity  incurred 
hatred  through  the  inevitable  rupture  of  family  ties. 
Also,  it  gives  the  earliest  and  most  trustworthy  descrip- 
tion of  Paul's  person  as  follows,  "  small  in  size,  bald- 


112  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

headed,  bow-legged,  strongly  built,  witli  eyebrows  meet- 
ing, full  of  grace,  sometimes  seeming  like  a  man  and 
sometimes  having  the  countenance  of  an  angel/' 

At  Lystra,  lived  Eunice,  a  devout  Jewess  married  to 
a  prominent  Gentile,  together  with  her  son,  Timothy, 
and  her  mother,  Lois ;  in  their  home  Paul  and  Barna- 
bas may  have  found  shelter,  and  through  Paul's  teach- 
ing they  became  Christians  (16:1;  I  Cor.  4:17;  II 
Tim.  1:5).  There  seem  to  have  been  few  other  elews 
in  Lystra ;  and,  as  there  was  no  synagogue,  the  apostles 
preached  in  the  market-place  and  elsewhere.  One  day 
while  thus  engaged,  Paul  noticed  on  the  ground  near 
him  a  lifelong  cripple,  listening  with  a  faith  that  w^as 
evidently  sufficient  for  an  act  of  healing.  The  apostle 
fastened  his  eyes  upon  him,  and  speaking  with  a  loud 
voice  suddenly  said,  "  Stand  upright  upon  thy  feet ;  '^ 
and  the  man  sprang  up,  able  to  walk.  The  watching 
crowd  at  once  concluded  that  these  two  strangers  were 
gods  in  human  guise,  as  in  the  familiar  Phrygian  story 
of  Baucis  and  Philemon,  and  proclaimed  this  with 
shouts,  identifying  the  dignified,  stately  Barnabas  with 
Zeus  and  the  little,  lively,  loquacious  Paul  with 
Hermes.  The  apostles  did  not  understand  the  outcries 
because  the  uneducated  population  used  only  the  native 
dialect ;  and  it  was  not  until  later  in  the  day,  when  the 
priest  of  the  temple  of  Zeus  outside  the  city  brought 
oxen  and  garlands  for  a  sacrifice  to  them  at  the  gates — 
probably  of  the  house  where  they  were  lodging, — that 
they  realized  the  situation.  Then,  rending  their 
clothes  to  express  their  horror  and  rushing  in  among 
the  crowd  with  cries  of  remonstrance,  they  finally  suc- 
ceeded in  stopping  the  sacrifice,  and  in  the  pause  which 
followed  explained  their  mission  as  messengers  of  the 
living  God  by  whom   all  things  were  made.     In  the 


PAUL'S  FIRST  MISSIONARY  JOURNEY    113 

natural  reaction  from  their  adoration,  tlie  Lystrans 
were  ready  later  on  to  listen  to  the  slanders  of  Jews 
who  came  from  Antioch  and  Iconium;  and,  striving 
to  surpass  these  larger  cities  in  their  treatment  of 
Paul,  they  stoned  him  until  they  thought  him  dead,  and 
then  disposed  of  his  hody  by  dragging  it  outside  the 
city.  Did  Stephen's  death  come  back  to  Paul  as  the 
stones  were  hurled  ?  He  proved  to  be  only  stunned ; 
and  while  his  mourning  friends  stood  around  him,  he 
rose  to  his  feet  and  was  able  to  return  to  his  lodgings 
and  the  next  day  to  leave  the  city, — a  recovery  so  rapid 
and  complete  as  to  seem  a  miracle.  Derbe,  the  next 
preaching-place,  thirty  miles  on,  was  small  and  free 
from  enemies;  and  the  apostles  made  many  converts 
here, — so  many  that  Luke  says  they  evangelized  the 
city, — perhaps  "Gains  of  Derbe"  (20:4)  was  one. 

5.     The  Return  to  Antioch  in  Syria. 

More  than  a  year  had  gone  since  the  two  apostles 
set  out  on  their  journey;  the  church  at  home  was  wait- 
ing their  return;  and  the  great  highway  east  from 
Derbe  was  the  direct  route  homeward.  But  instead  of 
going  forward  they  retraced  their  steps,  and  at  the  risk 
of  meeting  former  foes  and  fresh  persecution  visited 
again  Lystra,  Iconium  and  Pisidian  Antioch.  The 
impelling  force  was  a  desire  to  see  and  further  help 
the  disciples  in  those  cities,  and  the  visit  is  one  of  many 
manifestations  of  Paul's  devotion  to  his  churches  and 
friends.  There  was  no  public  preaching, — it  was  too 
dangerous;  but  there  were  private  reunions  with 
brethren  who  joyed  to  see  them  yet  trembled  at  their 
hazard;  there  were  words  of  cheer  and  consolation  in 
the  tribulations  that  abounded ;  and  there  was  aid,  such 
as  only  a  parent  missionary  can  give,  in  organizing  the 


114  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

churches.  Just  how  full  and  formal  an  organization 
should  be  read  into  the  statement  they  "  appointed  for 
them  elders  in  every  church''  (14:  23),  must  wait  dis- 
cussion. After  this,  leaving  Antioch  and  going  south 
through  Pisidia,  they  crossed  once  more  the  Taurus 
range  and  came  down  into  Pamphylia.  In  Perga  they 
gave  the  gospel  message  which  Paul's  illness  had  pre- 
vented them  from  giving  the  year  before ;  and  then,  as 
apparently  there  was  little  response  and  as  the  naviga- 
tion season  of  47  a.d.  was  about  to  close,  they  sought 
the  seaport,  Attalia,  and  sailed  to  Antioch  where  in 
the  presence  of  the  assembled  church  they  told  the 
thrilling  story  of  what  they  had  wrought  with  God's 
help,  and  especially  of  how  the  Gentiles  were  throng- 
ing into  the  fold  through  the  open  door,  not  of  circum- 
cision but  of  faith.  The  scene  is  memorable  as  the 
first  great  welcome  to  returning  missionaries.  And  we 
notice  that  there  was  no  questioning  or  murmuring 
over  the  opening  of  the  door  of  faith  to  the  Gentiles. 
Whatever  the  church  at  Jerusalem  might  hold,  these 
Christians  of  Antioch  believed  that  the  Gentiles  should 
be  given  the  gospel. 

This  first  missionary  journey  had  occupied  at  least 
a  year  and  a  half,  and  had  covered  some  fourteen  hun- 
dred miles  by  land  and  water.  It  had  revealed  ''  that 
the  gospel  could  find  a  ready  hearing  in  the  commercial 
towns  of  the  West,  and  that  the  Greek  world  contained 
thousands  of  persons  ready  and  eager  for  what  Chris- 
tianity had  to  offer"  (Ropes), — a  fact  deeply  affect- 
ing the  whole  question  of  the  relation  of  Christianity 
to  Judaism.  It  had  brought  Paul  to  the  front  as  a 
strong  leader,  peculiarly  fitted  for  Gentile  work.  And 
doubtless  in  it  had  been  developed  the  plan  of  work 
that  he  always  followed  later,  namely,  to  strike  for  the 


PAUL'S  FIRST  MISSIONARY  JOURNEY    115 

great  centres,  to  begin  in  the  synagogue,  if  there  was 
one,  leaving  it  only  when  forced  to  leave,  to  adapt  his 
words  and  life  to  the  people  among  whom  he  laboured, 
to  establish  churches  before  he  passed  on,  and  to  watch 
over  them  afterwards  as  a  father  over  his  children. 


YII 

THE  BATTLE  FOR  CHRISTIAI^  UKCTY 

WE  come  now  to  a  section  of  apostolic  history, 
recorded  in  Acts  XV  and  Gal.  II,  concern- 
ing which  there  has  been  an  endless  amount 
of  discussion.  When  and  to  whom  was  Galatians  writ- 
ten ?  Is  the  Jerusalem  visit  of  Gal.  2 :  1-10  recorded 
anywhere  in  Acts?  When  did  Peter  visit  Antioch? 
What  stirred  up  the  trouble  there  ?  Exactly  what  was 
settled  by  the  decree  of  Acts  15 :  23  f .  ?  Pages  might 
be  given  to  discussing  these  problems  without  settling 
them;  it  seems  better,  therefore,  to  present  with  little 
discussion  the  conclusions  that  are  most  satisfactory  to 
the  present  writer,  believing  that  the  presentation  itself 
will  be  their  best  defence.  This  has  already  been  done 
in  part  when  the  visit  of  Gal.  2 :  1-10  was  identified 
with  the  famine  visit  of  Acts. 

1.     The  Christians  and  the  Law. 

By  the  Law  is  meant,  of  course,  that  great  body  of 
legislation  concerning  morals,  forms  and  times  of  wor- 
ship, foods,  purifications,  etc.,  written  out  in  the  Old 
Testament,  and  the  still  greater  mass  of  further  legis- 
lation, created  by  the  desire  to  secure  perfect  obedi- 
ence to  the  written  code,  and  handed  down  orally  until 
after  the  Apostolic  Age.  In  our  thought  of  the  Law 
we  are  inclined  to  distinguish  between  that  part  which 
relates  to  ethics, — the  moral  law, — and  that  part  which 
relates  to  special  Jewish  observances, — the  ceremonial 

116 


THE  BATTLE  FOR  CHRISTIAN  UNITY       117 

law.  No  such  distinction  existed  in  the  thought  of 
the  Jews: — to  steal  and  to  eat  the  flesh  of  swine,  to 
blaspheme  and  to  pick  up  sticks  on  the  Sabbath,  were 
all  and  equally  transgressions  of  the  Law.  All  was 
binding  upon  the  Chosen  People,  who  in  solace  for 
their  loss  of  political  liberty  kept  increasing  the  strict- 
ness of  their  religious  bondage.  We  may  marvel  that 
they  gloried  in  the  Law;  but  it  was  their  special  herit- 
age, it  made  them  a  distinct  people,  it  created  a  sense 
of  secure  possession  of  God's  favour,  and  it  harmon- 
ized with  a  natural  tendency  in  the  human  heart  to  lay 
down  exact  rules  and  ordinances  and  to  count  the  ob- 
servance of  them  highest  merit.  The  man  who  has 
been  reared  in  legalism  finds  it  hard  indeed  to  recog- 
nize that  an  act  gains  value  only  from  its  motive,  and 
that  to  be  must  ever  precede  to  do. 

So  long  as  Christianity  remained  in  its  Jewish 
cradle,  all  believers  agreed  that  the  Law  was  binding 
upon  them;  they  thought  of  themselves  as  a  Jewish 
sect,  more  liberal  than  the  Pharisees  but  equally  loyal 
to  the  national  religion.  Afterwards,  by  various  steps 
which  we  have  traced, — Stephen,  Samaria,  Cornelius, 
Paul,  Antioch,  Titus, — the  decision  was  reached  that 
the  Gentiles  might  accept  Christ  without  undergoing 
circumcision  and  placing  themselves  under  the  Law; 
but  many  in  the  parent  church  refused  to  accept  this 
decision,  even  with  the  agreement  that  the  leaders  in 
the  Gentile  work  should  keep  at  a  distance  so  as  not 
to  offend  the  Jews.  From  this  time  on  there  were  in 
the  church  three  distinct  views  and  various  inter- 
mediate shades  of  opinion  concerning  the  obligations 
of  the  Law. 

At  one  extreme  stood  the  party  of  the  circumcision, 
made  up  largely  of  Pharisees   (15:5),  who  held  that 


118  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

the  Law  is  binding  upon  all  Christians,  and  that  only 
in  connection  with  keeping  it  can  salvation  be  gained. 
Jesus,  they  argued,  was  the  promised  Jewish  Messiah ; 
and  those  who  have  a  place  in  His  kingdom  must  be 
Jews  either  by  birth  or  by  adoption,  and  must  obey 
the  laws  and  ordinances  God  of  old  laid  down  for  His 
people.  They  pointed  to  the  example  of  Jesus  Him- 
self in  keeping  the  Law,  to  the  danger  of  gross  license 
without  it,  and  to  the  many  prophecies  of  a  final, 
world-wide  Jewish  Kingdom.  They  had  to  admit  that 
occasionally  a  man  might  be  accepted  of  God  apart 
from  the  Law;  there  were  instances  of  this  recorded 
in  the  Scriptures;  but  such  salvation  is  merely  as 
crumbs  from  the  children's  table. 

At  the  other  extreme  was  the  party  of  Paul,  who 
held  that  salvation  comes  solely  through  union  with 
Christ,  and  that  the  life  of  His  followers  is  one  of 
perfect  liberty.  The  Jewish  Law  was  for  Jews  alone, 
preparing  the  way  for  Christ,  and  is  of  no  value  now 
that  He  has  come.  And  even  the  law  of  conscience 
under  which  the  Gentiles  lived,  has  ceased  to  be  bind- 
ing upon  those  who  are  in  Christ.  For  the  Christian 
life  is  not  one  of  obedience  to  a  set  of  rules,  but  a  joy- 
ful reproduction  of  the  life  of  Christ,  in  which  the 
things  that  are  pure  and  just  and  holy  are  to  be  done 
not  of  compulsion  but  of  free  choice,  not  to  gain 
righteousness  but  because  through  Him  righteousness 
has  already  been  gained.  Jesus  is  the  universal  Sav- 
iour since  faith  in  Him  is  open  to  all;  and  whosoever 
believes  on  Him  is  no  longer  a  Jew  or  a  Gentile  but 
a  new  creature. 

A  third  party  held  that  the  Law  is  binding  upon 
Jewish  Christians  only.  They  are  not  freed  from  it 
by  accepting  Jesus  as  Messiah;  but  the  Gentiles  need 


THE  BATTLE  FOR  CHRISTIAN  UNITY      119 

not  assume  its  obligations  when  they  become  believers. 
This  apparently  was  the  view  of  James,  and  tacitly 
adopted  by  the  leaders  of  the  church  in  the  conference 
over  Titus.  It  seemed  a  harmonizing  compromise 
which  ought  to  suit  everybody;  as  a  matter  of  fact  it 
suited  neither  of  the  parties  and,  like  most  com- 
promises, gave  rise  to  further  troubles.  Still,  Paul  did 
not  oppose  it,  because  it  gave  him  a  free  hand  in  the 
Gentile  work;  and  "they  that  were  of  circumcision" 
(11:2)  acquiesced  in  it,  so  long  as  they  thought  the 
Gentile  work  would  amount  to  little  and  would  be 
kept  far  away.  Certainly  it  was  an  illogical  posi- 
tion;— either  Christianity  is  a  new  religion  whose  fol- 
lowers are  free  from  any  Jewish  obligations;  or  else 
it  is  only  one  form  of  Judaism,  in  which  case  the  Law 
in  some  form  is  binding  upon  all  its  adherents.  Later 
on,  as  we  shall  see,  the  latter  alternative  prevailed,  and 
the  Law  in  a  spiritualized  form  was  generally  felt  to 
be  binding;  but  this  solution  of  the  problem  was  not 
at  present  in  the  mind  of  any. 

2.     Peter  at  Antioch. 

The  missionary  journey  of  Paul  and  Barnabas  as 
we  have  seen,  bore  two  unexpected  fruits  both  im- 
portant:— one  was  the  rise  of  Paul  to  leadership,  and 
the  other  was  the  discovery  that  a  multitude  of  Gen- 
tile men  and  women  were  longing  for  the  message  of 
the  gospel  and  willing  to  accept  it  even  at  the  price  of 
breaking  with  friends  or  family  and  undergoing  perse- 
cution. Evidently  Paul  henceforth  must  be  reckoned 
with  in  all  apostolic  plans,  and  the  Gentile  church  was 
going  to  be  far  larger  than  any  had  dreamed.  Whether 
the  church  in  Jerusalem  awoke  to  these  two  facts,  and 
therefore  sent  Peter  to  Antioch  in  the  spring  of  48  a.d. 


120  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

to  investigate  the  Gentile  work,  or  whether  he  came 
of  his  own  initiative  to  see  how  his  brethren  fared, 
we  will  not  attempt  to  decide.  The  former  view  com- 
mends itself  to  those  who  hold  that  the  apostles  were 
truly  bishops;  the  latter  to  those  who  regard  them  as 
solely  the  first  great  foreign  missionaries.  Whatever 
his  purpose  in  visiting  the  church  of  Antioch,  Peter 
was  pleased  with  what  he  found  there ;  and  we  are  told 
that  he  ate  with  the  Gentile  Christians  just  as  the  other 
Jewish  Christians  were  doing.  This  need  not  mean 
that  these  Jewish  Christians  were  eating  food  forbid- 
den by  the  Law ;  there  was  no  necessity  for  their  doing 
so,  and  very  little  temptation,  since  food  that  from 
childhood  they  had  considered  unclean  would  still  be 
revolting  if  no  longer  forbidden.  jSTor  does  it  probably 
mean  that  Jews  and  Gentiles  were  sharing  their  ordi- 
nary meals;  the  home  life  of  each  race  would  go  on 
after  conversion  as  before,  and  there  would  be  little 
occasion  for  admitting  each  other  to  it.  The  one  place 
where  all  the  members  of  the  church  would  come  to- 
gether was  the  room,  probably  in  the  house  of  some 
wealthy  member,  where  they  met  for  worship ;  and  the 
one  meal  that  all  would  share  came  in  connection  with 
the  Eucharistic  service.  For  this  they  met  in  the 
evening  because  most  of  them,  being  labouring  men  or 
slaves,  were  not  free  to  meet  in  working  hours;  and 
the  meal,  eaten  before  the  sacrament,  was  simply  a  sub- 
stitute for  a  supper  at  home;  though  when  the  sacra- 
ment in  later  days  was  separated  from  the  meal,  the 
latter  was  still  continued  as  an  expression  of  Christian 
brotherhood,  a  "love  feast''  (Jude  12).  For  the  sup- 
per each  brought  his  own  food,  and  shared  it  with 
others  or  not  as  he  chose  (I  Cor.  11:  21)  ;  so  even  at 


THE  BATTLE  FOR  CHRISTIAN  UNITY       121 

this  table  a  Jewish  Christian  need  not  eat  Gentile  food, 
though  he  would  be  eating  with  Gentiles. 

The  coming  of  Peter  to  Antioch  and  his  cordial 
participation  in  the  life  of  the  brethren  must,  like  the 
coming  of  Barnabas,  have  been  an  inspiration  and 
blessing  to  the  church.  But  harmony  was  presently 
changed  to  discord  by  further  visitors  from  Jerusalem, 
belonging  to  the  party  that  had  stirred  up  trouble  over 
Titus,  and  flaming  with  the  same  zeal  for  the  Law. 
Paul  says  they  came  from  James  (Gal.  2:12),  and 
Luke  tells  us  they  taught,  "  Except  ye  be  circumcised 
after  the  custom  of  Moses,  ye  cannot  be  saved  "  (Acts 
15;  1).  James,  who  was  himself  a  strict  observer  of 
the  Law,  may  have  sent  them  because  he  had  heard  of 
laxity  among  the  Jewish  Christians  in  Antioch;  but 
as  he  had  already  agreed  that  Titus  need  not  be  cir- 
cumcised, he  could  not  have  authorized  their  statement 
of  the  terms  of  salvation, — indeed,  later  on  he  ex- 
pressly states  the  contrary  (15:  24).  Possibly  Luke's 
most  brief  summary  of  what  they  taught  is  incomplete ; 
certainly  it  must  be  interpreted  in  the  light  of  what 
followed.  The  first  triumph  of  these  new  teachers  was 
that  Peter,  followed  by  the  other  Jews  and  even  Bar- 
nabas, gradually  "  drew  back  and  separated  himself  " 
from  eating  with  the  Gentile  brethren,  doing  so 
through  fear  of  "  them  that  were  of  the  circumcision," 
i.e.,  the  party  these  men  from  James  represented 
(Gah  2:12-13).  That  Peter  should  act  thus  is  not 
surprising, — he  was  ever  sensitive  to  criticism,  and  he 
may  have  been  guarding  his  future  usefulness  among 
Jews ;  but  that  Barnabas  after  working  so  long  for  the 
Gentiles  should  refuse  to  share  their  communion  meal, 
shows  that  the  pressure  must  have  been  strong  indeed. 

What  was  it  that  these  men  from  James  urged  with 


122  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

sucli  force?  If  they  were  insisting  that  no  person  is 
a  Christian  until  circumcised,  Peter  and  Barnabas  cer- 
tainly could  not  agree  with  them.  Gentile  believers, 
though  they  had  not  become  Jews,  had  ceased  to  be 
heathen, — they  confessed  Christ,  loved  Him,  served 
Him,  and  through  their  loyalty  were  the  first  to  bear 
His  name ;  to  deem  them  not  His  followers  was  impos- 
sible. And  if  they  were  His  followers,  then  in  Him, 
as  Peter  himself  had  proclaimed  (4:  12),  they  had 
salvation;  and  as  to  keeping  the  Law,  the  leaders  of 
the  church  at  Jerusalem  had  declared  they  need  not 
keep  it.  Granting  all  this,  the  question  still  re- 
mained. Are  they  so  free  from  Gentile  impurities  that 
a  Jew  would  not  be  contaminated  if  he  ate  with  them  ? 
Here  was  a  possible  stumbling-block  which  had  been 
ignored  until  these  mischief-makers  from  Judea 
pushed  it  to  the  front.  To  understand  the  difficulty 
we  must  bear  in  mind  that  the  Jewish  idea  of  impurity 
was  the  same  as  that  which  goes  with  all  systems  of 
tabu, — in  the  forbidden  article  or  act  is  a  mysterious 
force,  an  impurity,  which  communicates  itself  to  the 
person  who  breaks  the  tabu,  and  not  only  renders  him 
impure  but  makes  him  in  turn  a  possible  source  of  im- 
purity to  others  (Num.  19:22;  Hag.  2:13;  I  Cor. 
10:20).  A  Gentile  was  thought  to  be  in  a  constant 
state  of  impurity  from  food  and  acts  upon  which  the 
Law  had  placed  a  tabu;  therefore,  any  contact  with 
him  would  make  a  Jew  impure.  To  avoid  all  contact, 
especially  in  Gentile  lands,  was  evidently  impossible; 
so  it  was  held  that  impurity  was  conveyed  only  by  inti- 
mate forms  of  contact,  among  which  eating  together 
was  specially  polluting: — ^the  Old  Testament  Apoc- 
rypha and  the  charges  against  Jesus  (Mk.  2:  16)  and 
Peter  (Acts  11:3)  reveal  this. 


THE  BATTLE  FOR  CHRISTIAN  UNITY       123 

The  churcli  at  Antioch  had  taken  for  granted  that 
when  a  Gentile  became  a  Christian  his  impurity  was 
removed,  and  therefore  no  reason  remained  why  Jew- 
ish Christians  might  not  eat  with  him.  The  men  from 
James  were  shocked  to  find  them  doing  this,  and  said 
in  protest,  "  No :  a  Gentile  is  not  so  cleansed  from  pol- 
lution that  we  Jews  can  eat  with  him  until  he  is  cir- 
cumcised ! ''  There  must  have  been  much  dispute  over 
the  matter,  for  Peter  and  the  others  were  slow  to  ac- 
cept this  opinion ;  but  accept  it  they  did,  and  began  to 
hold  their  love-feast  and  sacramental  service  apart  from 
the  Gentile  believers.  Henceforth — so  the  prospect 
was — there  would  be  in  the  church  two  distinct  bodies 
who  could  not  commune  together.  Modern  defenders 
of  denominational  exclusiveness  at  home  and  of  re- 
fusal to  co-operate  on  mission  fields,  may  not  deplore 
such  a  division  in  the  church;  but  Paul  was  mightily 
aroused  against  it.  He  seems  to  have  been  absent 
when  the  discussion  began,  or  he  would  have  taken  part 
in  it  at  once ;  and  he  did  not  return  until  the  split  had 
come,  and  the  Jewish  Christians  with  Peter  as  their 
leader  were  eating  the  communion  meal  in  a  separate 
comer  of  the  church  room.  At  once  before  them  all 
he  rebuked  the  great  apostle  to  his  face  (Gal.  2 :  14, 
11)  ;  this  was  not  a  matter  for  delay  or  suppressed 
complaint  or  private  conference;  Peter  was  in  the 
wrong  and  must  be  withstood.  Paul's  account  of  what 
he  said  to  Peter  (Gal.  2:  14  f.)  ends  we  know  not  just 
where,  because  he  passes  without  a  break  to  a  full  dis- 
cussion of  justification  by  faith;  nor  does  he  give  all 
that  he  said,  since  his  main  purpose  in  relating  the 
incident  is  to  show  the  Galatians  his  full  and  inde- 
pendent apostleship.  Undoubtedly  he  began  by  insist- 
ing  that    in   no   way   must   the   body    of   Christ   be 


124  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

divided: — this  is  a  theme  lie  dwells  on  in  his  epistles, 
and  an  end  he  ever  kept  before  him  in  his  later  labours. 
And  then  he  went  on  to  say,  in  substance,  ^'  You, 
Peter,  are  forcing  such  a  division  by  treating  these 
men  as  sinners  of  the  Gentiles.  You  are  doubly  in- 
consistent:— you  refuse  to  eat  with  them  because 
they  do  not  keep  the  Law;  yet  you  are  convinced  that 
it  is  not  necessary  for  anyone  to  keep  the  Law;  for 
you  agree  with  me  that  a  man  is  accepted  of  God,  not 
because  he  keeps  the  Law,  which  truly  no  man  can 
keep,  but  because  of  faith  in  Christ.  Faith  makes 
these  men  pure;  why  then  disobey  the  command  you 
received  at  Joppa, — ^  What  God  hath  cleansed,  make 
not  thou  common '  ?  We  who  are  in  Christ  have  died 
to  the  Law  that  we  may  live  unto  God  through  Him 
whose  life  is  our  life ;  how  dare  we  hold  ourselves  apart 
from  these  Gentiles  whose  equal  share  in  that  divine 
life  makes  them  one  with  us  ?  "  Paul's  remonstrance 
and  argument  prevailed  with  Peter.  This  is  not  stated 
in  the  letter  to  the  Galatians,  simply  because  it  is  self- 
evident, — the  incident  otherwise  would  have  no  value 
in  proving  his  authority  as  an  apostle;  and  we  know 
that  when  the  matter  came  up  in  Jerusalem,  Peter  not 
only  gave  his  hearty  support  to  Paul's  position,  but 
even  used  Paul's  arguments  in  defending  it. 

3.     The  Council  at  Jerusalem. 

Though  Peter  and  Barnabas  resumed  their  former 
brotherly  relations  with  Gentile  Christians,  the  trouble 
stirred  up  by  the  men  from  James  did  not  disappear 
but  rather  spread  to  the  other  churches  in  the  province 
of  Syria-Cilicia,  all  of  whom  looked  to  Antioch  as  the 
metropolitan  church.  Undoubtedly  the  assertion  was 
constantly  and  confidently  made  that  the  church   in 


THE  BATTLE  FOR  CHRISTIAN  UNIT^       125 

Jerusalem  would  not  sanction  the  communion  of  Jews 
with  Gentiles;  and  certainly  the  dispute  could  not  be 
settled  until  the  church  that  was  the  acknowledged 
mother  and  guide  of  all,  should  pass  upon  it.  With 
good  reason,  therefore,  Paul  and  Barnabas  and  certain 
others  were  appointed  to  take  the  question  to  the  apos- 
tles and  elders  in  Jerusalem.  On  their  waj  thither 
they  were  heard  with  great  joy  by  the  brethren  in 
Phoenicia  and  Samaria  as  they  told  of  the  conversion 
of  the  Gentiles;  but  when  they  reached  Judea  the 
agreement  made  at  their  former  visit  (Gal.  2:9)  kept 
them  silent  until  they  were  in  the  sacred  city.  Here 
they  were  kindly  received,  and  at  a  meeting  of  the 
church  "  rehearsed  all  things  that  God  had  done  with 
them"  (15:4), — their  whole  ministry  for  the  Gen- 
tiles, including  the  formation  of  churches  in  which 
these  worshipped  with  their  Jewish  brethren.  There- 
upon, certain  Pharisees  who  had  accepted  Christ  with- 
out abandoning  their  old  idea  of  separateness,  declared 
that  to  circumcise  the  Gentiles  and  charge  them  to 
keep  the  Law  was  "needful''  (15:5).  E'eedful  for 
what?  I^ot  for  their  reception  into  the  church, — the 
discussion  over  Cornelius  and  Titus  had  settled  that — 
but  for  any  communion  of  Jews  with  them.  It  was 
the  same  old  attempt  to  impose  the  burden  of  the  Law 
as  necessary,  not  this  time  for  salvation  but  for  Chris- 
tian unity. 

A  special  meeting  was  called  to  discuss  and  settle 
this  matter ;  and  in  it  Peter  was  the  prominent  spokes- 
man, claiming  this  position  because  he  first  had  been 
called  of  God  to  preach  the  gospel  to  Gentiles.  The 
diiference  between  his  present  argument  and  that  with 
which  he  defended  himself  for  eating  with  the  little 
group  in  Caesarea   (11:5  f.)   shows  how  far  he  had 


126  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

advanced  in  Christian  truths  since  that  earlier  day. 
He  said,  "  The  gift  of  the  Holj  Spirit  to  Cornelius 
and  the  others  proves  that  in  the  sight  of  God  thej 
are  as  clean  as  Jewish  Christians.  He  has  made  no 
distinction  between  us  and  them,  cleansing  their  hearts 
by  faith  even  as  He  cleansed  ours.  To  insist  that  they 
are  not  pure  unless  they  bear  the  burden  of  the  Law, 
is  to  question  the  work  of  God,  and  require  them  to  do 
the  impossible.  We  ourselves  are  conscious  that  we 
fail  in  keeping  the  Law,  and  we  believe  that  we  are 
saved  through  the  grace  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  exactly  as 
they  are.  If  we  pronounce  them  unclean,  what  are 
we  ?  "  Silence  followed ;  the  Pharisees  had  no  answer 
ready.  Then  Paul  and  Barnabas  spoke,  making  no 
argument  or  appeal  but  simply  adding  weight  to 
Peter's  words  by  telling  of  repeated  instances  in  their 
own  labours  where  God  had  shown  by  miracles  His 
acceptance  of  the  Gentiles.  Finally,  James,  the 
brother  of  Jesus  and  the  recognized  head  of  the  church, 
whom  the  emissaries  at  Antioch  had  professed  to  repre- 
sent, gave  his  own  judgment  based  on  what  he  had 
heard  and  on  what  the  prophets  had  foretold.  It  was 
unanimously  accepted,  and  put  into  a  letter  which  was 
sent  to  the  troubled  Gentile  churches.  "  The  Gen- 
tiles," so  James  declared,  "  are  our  brother  Christians, 
and  should  be  treated  as  such.  The  mischievous,  soul- 
ravaging  words  of  the  unauthorized  representatives 
should  be  denounced,  and  Barnabas  and  Paul  should 
be  given  heartiest  endorsement  as  men  who  have  haz- 
arded their  lives  for  the  sake  of  Christ.  I^Tevertheless, 
these  Gentile  believers  ought  to  shape  their  lives  in 
such  a  way  as  not  to  block  the  spread  of  Christianity 
among  the  unbelieving  Jews  who  are  their  neighbours. 
In  every  city  there  are  synagogues  filled  with  Jews 


THE  BATTLE  FOR  CHRISTIAN  UNITY       127 

most  scrupulous  in  keeping  the  Law;  if  once  there 
spreads  abroad  the  idea  that  Christians  are  impure, 
no  synagogue  will  admit  us,  and  no  Jew  will  listen  to 
us.  Let  Gentile  Christians,  therefore,  do  at  least  as 
much  as  Gentiles  would  have  to  do  if  thej  sought  per- 
mission to  worship  in  the  synagogue,  or  as  Moses  de- 
creed that  they  must  do  if  they  would  make  their  home 
in  the  land  of  the  Jews; — let  them  abstain  from  food 
that  has  been  offered  as  a  sacrifice  to  idols,  from  blood, 
from  things  strangled  and  from  fornication;  if  they 
keep  themselves  from  these,  their  state  will  be  satis- 
factory.'' 

Evidently  these  four  restrictions  were  of  things  spe- 
cially revolting  to  Jews ;  and  it  is  easy  to  see  why.  A 
pious  Jew  shrank  from  contact  with  the  Gentile  world 
because  it  seemed  to  him  everywhere  foul  with  pollu- 
tions of  idols,  disgusting  foods  and  licentiousness :  care 
must  be  taken,  therefore,  to  convince  him  that  Gentile 
Christians  no  longer  gave  themselves  over  to  these 
things.  Food  offered  to  idols  whether  eaten  in  a  tem- 
ple or  at  home,  was  held  to  be  a  communion  with 
demons  (Deut.  32:  17;  I  Cor.  10:  20)  ;  blood  was  the 
life  element  and  therefore  sacred  to  God  (Deut. 
12:23);  things  strangled  and  not  bled  still  retained 
the  blood  and  should  not  be  eaten;  all  this  is  obvious. 
But  the  fourth  restriction  comes  with  a  shock  of  sur- 
prise because  we  had  not  imagined  that  any  Chris- 
tian,— Jew  or  Gentile, — would  consider  fornication 
allowable.  For  this  reason  many  understand  fornica- 
tion here  to  mean  incestuous  marriages,  such  as  the 
one  that  Paul  calls  by  this  name  and  sharply  condemns 
(I  Cor.  5:1);  and  they  point  out  that  this  interpreta- 
tion makes  all  four  restrictions  correspond  to  those 
laid    down    for    the    stranger    sojourning    among    the 


128  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

Israelites  (Lev.  17:1-18:30).  Others  would  retain 
the  usual  meaning  of  the  word,  because  sins  of  un- 
ehastity  were  lightly  regarded  in  the  Gentile  world, 
many  temples  were  religious  brothels,  and  Paul  had 
constantly  to  warn  his  converts  against  sexual  im- 
purity. Possibly  there  is  no  need  to  choose  between 
the  two  meanings  of  the  word,  since  both  may  have 
been  in  the  mind  of  the  Jerusalem  church. 

Barnabas  and  Paul  were  given  the  letter;  and  two 
leading  men  in  the  church,  Judas  Barsabbas  and  Silas, 
were  selected  to  return  with  them  and  carry  fraternal 
greetings.  Thus  the  church  at  Jerusalem  expressed 
most  strongly  its  willingness  to  treat  the  Gentile  Chris- 
tians as  brethren.  And  the  believers  at  Antioch^  on 
the  other  hand,  gladly  accepted  the  restrictions  urged 
upon  them;  when  the  epistle  was  read,  ''they  rejoiced 
for  the  exhortation,''  i.e.,  the  implied  God-speed  for 
their  work;  and  when  Judas  and  Silas  had  fulfilled 
their  mission,  they  dismissed  them  in  peace.  Such  was 
the  satisfactory  ending  of  a  dispute  which  threatened 
either  to  impose  upon  the  Gentiles  the  burden  of  the 
Law  or  to  split  the  church.  The  settlement  reached 
is  sometimes  represented  as  involving  a  partial  subjec- 
tion of  the  Gentiles  to  the  Law;  but  if  Paul  had  re- 
garded it  as  such,  he  would  have  fought  against  it  as 
bitterly  as  against  compelling  Titus  to  be  circumcised. 
The  battle  for  liberty  had  been  won,  and  he  would  not 
allow  any  of  its  fruits  to  be  stolen  in  this  way.  But 
to  comply  with  these  four  restrictions,  if  compliance 
would  promote  access  to  Jewish  unbelievers  or  bind 
the  Jewish  Christians  more  closely  to  their  Gentile 
brethren,  was  exactly  in  agreement  with  two  leading 
principles  of  Paul's  life, — ''  All  things  are  lawful  for 
me,  but  all  things  are  not  expedient,"  and  ^'  Give  no 


THE  BATTLE  FOR  CHRISTIAN  UNITY       129 

occasion  of  stumbling,  either  to  Jews  or  to  Greeks  or 
to  the  church  of  God''  (I  Cor.  6:12;  10:32).  And 
though  he  accepted  the  restrictions,  he  did  not  feel 
himself  under  compulsion  to  observe  them  when  ob- 
servance would  not  further  the  purpose  for  which  they 
were  given.  We  shall  see  this  illustrated  repeatedly 
later  on.  Evidently  he  did  not  look  upon  the  letter 
from  Jerusalem  as  a  decree,  which  must  be  implicitly 
obeyed,  but  rather  as  '^  a  strong  expression  of  opinion, 
more  than  advice  and  less  than  a  command  "  (Hort) 
which  left  him  at  liberty  to  use  ultimately  his  own 
judgment.  Note  finally  that  while  the  Gentiles  were 
thus  cordially  recognized  as  Christians  and  brethren, 
there  still  was  room  for  the  opinion  that  they  would 
be  better  Christians  if  they  kept  the  Law.  Though 
the  question  of  liberty  and  of  fraternity  had  been  set- 
tled, the  question  of  equality  was  yet  to  be  discussed, 
and  the  discussion  when  it  did  arise  was  a  heated  one. 
This  was  not  the  only  time  when  Paul  laboured  hard 
to  hold  the  church  together  as  one  body  of  Christ;  we 
shall  find  him  ever  striving  to  prevent  a  rupture. 
There  was  grave  danger  that  the  Gentile  brethren,  con- 
stantly treated  with  suspicion  or  contempt  by  the 
Jewish,  might  break  away  entirely  and  refuse  to  recog- 
nize any  connection  with  Jerusalem.  Had  they  done 
so,  the  result  would  have  been  disastrous.  There  would 
have  been  increasing  hostility  to  anything  that  bore 
marks  of  Jewish  origin ;  the  Old  Testament  would  have 
ceased  to  be  held  sacred;  Jewish  ethics  would  have 
been  cast  aside:  the  teachings  of  the  Twelve  would 
have  lost  authority ;  and  even  the  figure  of  Jesus  might 
have  been  changed  into  something  nearer  the  Greek 
ideals.  And  could  the  Gentile  church,  thus  severing 
itself  from  the  historic  past  and  becoming  an  inde- 


130  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

pendent  organization,  have  survived  amid  the  perils 
and  pressure  of  the  many  and  seductive  forms  of  Greek 
religious  thought  in  that  and  the  next  century  ?  Would 
it  not  have  sought  more  and  more  from  Greek  sources 
the  material  for  an  independent  religion,  and  suc- 
cumhed  more  and  more  to  the  moral  miasma  and  spir- 
itual delirium  in  which  it  had  to  live  ?  Certainly  Paul 
was  "  a  wise  master-builder  "  when  he  insisted  that  the 
whole  church  should  be  "  built  upon  the  foundation  of 
the  apostles  and  prophets,  Christ  Jesus  Himself  being 
the  chief  corner-stone"  (Eph.  2:  20). 


VIII 

THE  seco:n^d  missioi^ary  journey 

THE  second  missionary  journey  had  as  its  im- 
mediate incentive  Paul's  desire  to  see  again 
the  converts  of  the  first  journey  (15:36). 
If  the  time  now  was,  as  we  suppose,  the  spring  of  49 
A.D.,  a  year  and  a  half  had  passed  since  he  parted 
from  them ;  and,  though  tidings  of  their  welfare  would 
be  brought  to  Antioch  repeatedly,  he  would  long  to 
know  more  exactly  just  how  they  were  progressing  in 
Christian  faith  and  life.  Behind  this  desire  may  have 
been,  also,  a  longing  to  preach  the  gospel  in  the  great 
Greek  cities  further  west  still  unevangelized.  Barna- 
bas was  invited  to  go  with  him  and  was  ready  to  do 
so  when  a  sharp  dispute  over  taking  Mark  again  as 
their  assistant  ended  in  separation  and  a  division  of 
the  territory.  Barnabas  sailed  with  Mark  to  Cyprus, 
and  Paul  took  the  overland  route  to  Galatia 
(15:  37  f.).  J^aturally  we  sympathize  with  Barnabas 
in  his  insistence  that  Mark,  despite  his  failing  them 
once,  be  given  a  second  trial,  especially  as  we  know 
that  by  so  doing  he  saved  Mark  for  the  church,  even 
as  he  had  once  saved  Paul ;  but  the  brethren  at  Antioch 
seem  to  have  sympathized  with  Paul,  for  unlike  Bar- 
nabas he  had  their  benediction  when  he  went  forth 
(15:40).  We  hear  no  more  of  Barnabas  in  Acts; 
tradition  says  that  his  later  field  was  Egypt.  Erom 
Paul's  letters  we  infer  that  friendly  relations  were 
later  on  renewed,  and  that,  if  he  never  again  worked 

131 


132  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

with  Paul,  lie  was  known  in  Corintli  and  Colosse,  two 
of  Paul's  churches  (I  Cor.  9:6;  Col.  4:  10).  Indeed, 
we  may  well  suppose  that  Luke  is  recording  Paul's 
high  estimate  of  Barnahas  when  he  describes  him  as 
"  a  good  man,  full  of  the  Holy  Spirit  and  of  faith  " 
(Acts  11:24).  As  for  Mark,  we  find  that  in  later 
years  he  became  one  of  Paul's  most  useful  and  trusted 
assistants  (Col.  4:10;  Phile.  24;  II  Tim.  4:11), 
thereby  proving  that  the  faith  of  Barnabas  in  him 
despite  his  hour  of  failure  was  well  founded,  and  that 
Paul's  condemnation  was  too  severe.  To  journey  with 
himself  now  Paul  selected  Silas,  whose  ability  and 
sympathy  with  the  Gentiles,  together  with  the  fact  that 
he  was  a  Roman  citizen,  were  strong  recommendations. 
Whether  he  still  was  tarrying  in  Antioch  or  had  to  be 
summoned  to  Jerusalem,  is  an  unimportant  question 
arising  from  differing  texts  of  Acts  15 :  33-34. 

1.     From  Antioch  to  Troas. 

The  great  western  highway  led  first  through  those 
regions  of  Syria  and  Cilicia  where  Paul  had  preached 
in  earlier  days.  Doubtless  the  Jerusalem  letter  had 
already  been  received  by  the  brethren  here,  since  it  was 
addressed  to  them  as  well  as  to  Antioch  (15 :  23)  ;  and 
Paul  needed  simply  to  express  his  approval  of  its  con- 
tents. But  when  he  reached  Galatia,  he  delivered  the 
decrees  to  each  church  and  urged  the  keeping  of  them. 
They  were  gladly  accepted;  and  the  effect  of  Paul's 
visit  and  of  the  knowledge  that  the  Jerusalem  church 
welcomed  Gentiles  as  brethren  is  shown  in  the  state- 
ment that  "  so  the  churches  were  strengthened  in  faith 
and  increased  in  numbers  daily"  (16:5). 

Paul  still  lacked  a  "fellow-worker"  (Rom.  16:  21) 
in  place  of  Barnabas,  as  Luke  indicates  by  using  the 


THE  SECOND  MISSIONARY  JOURNEY    133 

singular  person  in  15 :  41-16 :  3 ;  but  at  Lystra  the 
vacant  place  was  filled  by  Timothy,  a  young  man  of 
high  reputation  and  special  promise,  Paul's  convert  on 
the  previous  journey  (16:1  f. ;  I  Tim.  1:2).  The 
emphatic  "  Behold,"  with  which  Luke  introduces  Tim- 
othy, and  the  reference  in  I  Tim.  1:18  to  "the 
prophecies  that  led  the  way"  to  him,  indicate  some 
remarkable  spiritual  guidance  in  the  selection  of  the 
man  who  was  to  fill  such  an  important  position  and  be 
so  much  to  Paul  henceforth.  And  he  was  set  apart 
for  the  work,  as  Paul  and  Barnabas  had  been  at  An- 
tioch,  by  the  laying  on  of  hands  by  the  Lystran  elders 
and  Paul  himself  (I  Tim.  4:14;  II  Tim.  1:6). 
Though  as  a  child  Timothy  had  been  thoroughly  in- 
structed in  the  Old  Testament  by  his  mother  and 
grandmother,  who  were  then  devout  Jewesses  (II  Tim. 
3:15;  1:5),  he  had  not  been  circumcised,  since  his 
father,  probably  now  dead,  was  a  Gentile;  therefore, 
Paul  himself  circumcised  him.  This  act  can  be  de- 
fended by  pointing  out  that  it  was  done,  not  because 
Jewish  Christians  demanded  it,  as  they  did  in  the  case 
of  Titus,  but  because  it  would  facilitate  work  among 
unbelieving  Jews  who  might  refuse  to  receive  an  un- 
circumcised  man  in  their  homes ;  yet,  as  Ramsay  says, 
no  act  in  Paul's  life  is  more  difficult  to  sympathize 
with,  and  none  cost  him  more  dear;  for  it  was  misun- 
derstood by  the  Galatian  converts,  and  used  against 
him  later  by  zealous  advocates  of  the  Law. 

The  older  commentators,  who  understood  by  Galatia 
the  region  originally  bearing  that  name  and  constitut- 
ing in  Paul's  day  the  northern  part  of  the  great  Roman 
province  of  Galatia,  supposed  that  at  this  point 
(16:6)  Paul  and  his  companions  journeyed  into 
Niorth  Galatia,  and  preached  in  such  cities  as  Ancyrus 


134  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

and  Pessina;  but  scliolars  now  largely  agree  that  the 
statement  "  they  went  through  Phrygia  and  the  region 
of  Galatia/'  means  simply  a  continuation  of  their  jour- 
ney westward  through  the  Phrygian  region  of  the 
Eoman  province.  When  they  had  visited  the  brethren 
in  Pisidian  Antioch,  the  question  was,  Whither  next? 
Should  they  retrace  their  steps,  or  cross  the  Taurus 
and  revisit  Pamphylia,  or  go  forward  into  unexplored 
fields?  As  yet  they  had  done  no  new  mission  work; 
they  were  on  the  direct  road  to  Ephesus,  capital  of  the 
province  of  Asia  and  dominant  city  of  all  Asia  Minor; 
a  desire  to  preach  Christ  in  the  very  face  of  the  great 
goddess  Artemis  fired  Paul's  heart;  so  they  pushed 
on.  Possibly  we  should  state  the  matter  more  strongly, 
and  say  that  Paul  had  Ephesus  in  mind  when  he  set 
out  from  Syrian  Antioch,  or  at  least  when  he  selected 
Timothy  to  be  henceforth  his  fellow-worker.  He  was 
a  leader  with  bold  plans  and  high  courage.  His  suc- 
cess in  Galatia  could  not  but  rouse  in  a  mind  like  his 
a  vision  of  the  whole  Roman  empire  claimed  for 
Christ.  He  would  go  forward  planting  the  cross  in 
province  after  province  clear  across  to  Spain. 
Ephesus,  "  that  great  metropolis  in  which  the  East 
looked  out  upon  the  West,"  was  the  next  step  in  such 
a  march  of  conquest ;  when  he  had  fully  preached  the 
gospel  there,  he  could  cross  the  Aegean.  If  this  was 
his  plan,  he  was  now  to  learn, — as  many  a  missionary 
must, — that  an  overruling  Power  defeats  our  best  laid 
counsels.  The  record  of  the  next  section  of  this  mis- 
sionary journey  (16:6-9)  Ramsay  pronounces  "the 
most  remarkable  paragraph  in  Acts "  because  of  the 
repeated  operation  of  divine  agencies,  and  the  sweep 
and  rush  of  the  narrative  in  which  point  after  point 
and  province  after  province  are  hurried  over.     When 


THE  SECOND  MISSIONARY  JOURNEY     135 

the  travellers  reached  the  province  of  Asia  they  were 
forbidden  by  the  Holy  Spirit  to  preach  in  it;  then 
journeying  northward  they  tried  to  enter  the  province 
of  Bithynia,  but  the  Spirit  of  Jesus  would  not  allow 
them  to  do  so;  and  passing  through  Mysia  they  came 
to  Troas,  still  unable  to  preach  because  still  in  Asia, 
and  doubtless  much  disappointed  and  sore  perplexed. 
It  is  idle  to  conjecture  what  experiences  lie  behind 
this  condensed  statement  of  repeatedly  changed  plans, 
baffled  undertakings  and  enforced  silence;  whatever 
they  were,  Paul  accepted  them  as  God's  leadings;  and 
when  at  Troas  he  saw  in  a  night  vision  a  Macedonian 
man,  and  heard  his  appeal,  "  Come  over  into  Mace- 
donia, and  help  us,"  he  recognized  that  the  path  along 
which  he  had  been  divinely  driven  was  to  the  lands 
across  the  Aegean  Sea. 

2.     Through  the  Cities  of  Macedonia. 

At  Troas  Luke  joined  Paul's  party, — so  the  change 
in  the  narrative  from  the  third  person  to  the  first  indi- 
cates ;  and  doubtless  he,  a  Greek  and  therefore  familiar 
with  the  sea  as  the  Jews  were  not,  took  charge  of  the 
arrangements  for  crossing  the  Aegean,  and  decided  that 
they  should  sail  for  Philippi,  which  seems  to  have  been 
his  o^vn  city,  rather  than  for  some  other  place  in  Mace- 
donia. 

Crossing  from  Troas  to  N^eapolis  seems  to  us  passing 
from  one  continent  to  another,  and  therefore  a  specially 
significant  act;  but  no  such  thought  could  be  in  the 
mind  of  Paul  as  he  embarked ;  since  all  the  Greek  cities 
around  the  Aegean  were  closely  related  in  civil  and 
political  life.  Luke  always  notes  the  details  of  a  voy- 
age:— this  time  they  made  a  very  quick  run, — two 
days;  a  later  crossing  took  five  days  (20:  6).    Philippi, 


136  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

a  few  miles  inland  from  ISTeapolis,  was  a  Eoman  colony, 
like  Pisidian  Antioch,  governed  by  two  chief  magis- 
trates, praetors,  as  Eome  was  by  two  consuls  and  proud 
of  itg  privileges  and  loyalty, — a  pride  evidently  shared 
by  Luke.  There  were  not  enough  Jews  here  to  sup- 
port a  synagogue,  but  a  handful  of  women  had  a  ^'  place 
of  prayer  "  by  the  riverside ;  and  on  a  Sabbath  the  mis- 
sionaries found  them  there,  and  sat  down  and  talked 
with  them.  One  of  the  number  was  Lydia,  a  devout 
Gentile  from  Thyatira,  who  carried  on  a  prosperous 
traffic  in  the  famous  purple  fabrics  of  her  city.  She 
listened  with  interest  to  the  words  of  Paul,  and  in  the 
days  that  followed  became  a  convert,  and  with  all  her 
household  was  baptized;  whereupon  she  invited  Paul 
and  his  companions  to  make  her  house  their  home,  in- 
sisting upon  this  so  strongly,  putting  it  as  a  favor  to  her- 
self and  not  to  them,  that  they  yielded,  despite  Paul's 
rigid  rule  to  shun  even  the  semblance  of  making  a  liv- 
ing out  of  the  gospel  (I  Cor.  9  :  14  f.). 

The  work  in  Philippi  was  beginning  to  bear  fruit 
when,  though  free  from  the  usual  opposition  of  hostile 
Jewg,  it  was  brought  to  an  end  by  a  Gentile  attack. 
Certain  men  of  the  city  were  joint-owners  of  a  demoniac 
slave-girl  whose  skill  as  a  ventriloquist  and  fortune- 
teller was  making  them  wealthy.  The  psychology  of 
demoniacal  possession  is  too  abstruse  a  subject  to  be 
discussed  here  in  a  paragraph,  and  is  better  taken  up 
in  a  study  of  the  life  of  Christ  where  it  is  repeatedly 
forced  upon  our  attention.  Certainly,  to  say  that  a 
demoniac  is  merely  insane  is  as  superficial  a  statement 
as  to  say  that  a  paralytic  is  merely  ill.  The  disordered 
intellect  of  the  demoniac  is  evident;  the  real  problem 
is  whether  the  cause  is  physical  or  spiritual.  Only 
those  who  have  seen  and  carefully  studied  cases  of  demo- 


THE  SECOND  MISSIONARY  JOURNEY    137 

niacal  possession  in  lands  where  they  still  abound,  are 
competent  to  pass  judgment  as  to  the  cause:  the  rest 
of  us  merely  darken  counsel  by  words  without  knowl- 
edge. Demoniacs  in  Philippi  were  not  so  unusual 
as  to  attract  the  attention  of  the  missionaries ;  but  this 
girl  kept  following  them  and  shouting  their  mission,  as 
they  went  each  day  to  the  place  of  prayer  which  had 
now  become  a  meeting-place  for  the  believers.  Paul 
endured  such  troublesome  attentions  for  many  days,  but 
at  last  put  an  end  to  them  by  casting  out  the  demon, 
thus  stopping  her  makers'  money -making ;  and  they 
took  revenge  by  dragging  Paul  and  Silas  before  the 
praetors  on  the  trumped  up  but  plausible  charge  that 
these  men  were  turning  Roman  citizens  into  Jews,  and 
in  this  way  spreading  treason.  If,  just  about  this 
time,  Claudius  was  having  trouble  with  the  Jews  at 
Rome,  the  charge  that  Jewish  emissaries  were  at  work 
in  this  proudly  loyal  colony  would  be  doubly  effective ; 
and  the  declaration  of  the  apostles  that  they  were 
Roman  citizens  would  be  answered  with  howls  of  deri- 
sion. Without  any  trial  the  excited  petty  praetors 
ordered  them  stripped,  severely  scourged  (II  Cor. 
11:  25)  and  kept  in  safest  custody;  and  nightfall  found 
them  in  an  inner  prison,  their  feet  gripped  by  stocks, 
their  backs  raw  with  Gripes,  but  their  lips  vocal  with* 
prayers  and  hymng  to  which  the  other  prisoners  US'- 
tened  with  wonder.  A  severe  earthquake,  not  uncom- 
mon in  that  region,  came  at  midnight  to  set  them  free. 
In  all  its  effects, — doors  wrenched  open,  bonds  loosed, 
prisoners  bewildered  or  panic-stricken,  the  jailor  ready 
to  commit  suicide  if  his  charges  had  escaped, — there 
Was  nothing  marvellous ;  the  really  impressive  features 
of  the  scene  were  Paul's  calmness  and  his  prompt  as- 
sumption of  command  over  prisoners  and  jailor  alike. 


138  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

We  shall  see  this  repeated  when  he  is  shipwrecked;  in 
all  hours  of  stress  and  danger  he  is  master  of  the  situa- 
tion, and  dominates  his  companions,  high  or  low,  Chris- 
tian or  heathen. 

Morning  found  the  two  prisoners  now  honored  guests 
in  the  home  of  the  jailor,  who  with  all  his  household  had 
believed  on  the  Lord  Jesus  and  been  baptized.  It 
found  also  the  praetors  far  from  satisfied  with  what 
they  had  done.  We  can  hardly  suppose  that  they  asso- 
ciated the  earthquake  with  the  imprisonment  of  two 
vagabond  Jews;  but  the  night  was  not  one  for  sleep, 
and  as  they  reviewed  the  hasty  action  of  the  previous 
day,  they  were  not  so  sure  of  its  wisdom.  Also,  Luke 
and  other  friends  of  Paul  may  have  been  to  them  with 
vigorous  protest.  The  easiest  way  to  avoid  unpleasant 
consequences  was  to  set  the  prisoners  free  on  condition 
that  they  leave  the  city  at  once;  but  after  the  open, 
shameful  treatment  he  had  received  (I  Thess.  2:2) 
Paul  refused  to  be  thus  secretly  and  ignominiously  re- 
leased. To  vindicate  himself  and  protect  the  cause  he 
represented,  he  insisted  that  rulers  who  had  maltreated 
Roman  citizens  must  make  their  amends  as  public  as 
their  injustice  by  coming  in  person  to  escort  him  and 
Silas  from  the  prison.  The  abject  praetors  hastened 
to  do  this,  and  begged  them  to  depart  lest  fresh  dis- 
turbance should  arise.  So,  after  staying  in  the  house 
of  Lydia  until  they  were  fit  for  travel,  they  bade  fare- 
well to  the  assembled  brethren,  and  left  Philippi. 
Timothy  went  with  them,  but  Luke  remained  because 
here  probably  was  his  home,  and  he  could  help  the  little 
group  of  believers  who  mourned  to  see  the  others  leave. 

Thessalonica,  then  as  now  a  great  commercial  city 
with  a  magnificent  harbour,  lay  on  the  Roman  road  some 
ninety  miles  southwest  of  Philippi;  and  the  mission- 


THE  SECOND  MISSIONARY  JOURNEY     139 

aries  chose  it  as  their  next  field,  instead  of  Amphipolis 
or  Apollonia  through  which  they  had  to  pass  on  the 
way.  Probably  the  meager  fruits  of  the  work  in 
Philippi  had  made  Paul  feel  that  it  was  unprofitable  to 
tarry  in  cities  where  there  were  no  synagogues  and 
consequently  very  few  ''God-fearing"  Gentiles, — the 
most  receptive  hearers  of  the  gospel.  In  the  synagogue 
at  Thessalonica  he  found  many  of  these,  who  promptly 
■became  believers ;  and  though  few  Jews  were  converted, 
and  the  synagogue  was  closed  against  him  after  three 
Sabbaths,  the  work  went  on  among  the  Gentiles  for  a 
long  time, — long  enough  for  Lydia  and  the  other 
friends  at  Philippi  to  send  him  gifts  for  his  needs  twice 
(Phil.  4:16),  thus  supplementing  what  he  himself 
earned  by  working  day  and  night  (I  Thess.  2:9).  The 
letter  he  afterwards  wrote  to  the  Thessalonians  contains 
a  striking  description  of  the  manner  in  which  Paul  and 
his  companions  preached  the  gospel  of  God  among  them 
in  behaviour  as  well  as  in  words  and  cared  for  the  con- 
verts as  a  father  for  his  children  or  as  a  nurse  for  her 
charge  (I  Thess.  2: 1-12)  ;  it  is  most  profitable  reading 
for  all  missionaries.  The  church  founded  in  Thessa- 
lonica was  composed  mainly  of  poor  people  (II  Cor. 
8:2),  but  included  the  wives  of  a  number  of  the  lead- 
ing men  of  the  city.  Macedonian  women  had  a  higher 
position  and  exerted  more  influence  than  their  sisters  in 
Athens  and  Corinth;  and  for  that  reason  mention  is 
specially  made  of  their  conversion  (17:4,  12).  The 
Jews  must  have  been  sore  over  the  loss  of  these  promi- 
nent women  from  their  synagogue;  and  doubtless  this 
was  one  reason  why  they  were  jealous  and  began  a  perse- 
cution which  was  long  and  bitter  (I  Thess.  2:  14-16). 
They  stirred  up  the  dregs  of  the  city  to  make  a  riotous 
assault  upon  the  house  of  Jason,  where  they  thought  to 


140  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

find  Paul  and  Silas  at  some  meeting  of  the  Christians; 
and  as  the  men  they  sought  were  not  there,  they  seized 
Jason  and  his  companions,  and  dragged  them  before 
the  city  rulers  on  the  charge  of  receiving  and  abetting 
revolutionaries  who  were  setting  up  Jesus  in  the  place 
of  Caesar.     There  was  always  danger  that  exhortations 
to  obey  Christ  might  be  interpreted  as  treason ;  and  for 
this  reason  the  words  king  and  kingdom, — so  often  on 
the  lips  of  Jesus, — ^were  seldom  used  by  the  apostles; 
but  Paul  had  been  preaching  much  about  the  coming 
of  Christ  (17:3;  II  Thess.  2:5),  which  would  easily 
be  understood  to  signify  the  overthrow  of  the  Koman 
emperor.     The  charge  against  Jason  and  his  associates 
was  a  most  serious  one;  but  evidently  the  city  rulers 
knew  it  was  baseless,  for  their  action  was  the  mildest 
possible  under  the  circumstances, — they  took  security 
from  them  and  let  them  go.    What  was  the  security  to 
secure?     Some  say  it  was  that  Paul  should  leave  the 
city  and  not  return.     They  point  out  that  Paul  says 
Satan  hindered  his  return  (I  Thess.  2:18),  and  they 
think  that  he  would  consider  Jason's  pledge  a  mo^  cun- 
ning device  of  Satan  because,  though  he  was  willing  to 
risk  his  own  life  by  returning,  he  could  not  as  a  Chris- 
tian gentleman  bring  his  friends  into  trouble.  But  since 
he  was  twice  on  the  point  of  returning  (I  Thess.  2  :  17) 
and  did  not  soon  give  up  the  hope  to  return  (Id.  3 :  11), 
this  explanation  is  hardly  satisfactory.     More  probably 
the  hindrance  was  the  malignity  of  Paul's  enemies, 
which  he  would  feel  to  be  Satanic,  or  else  that  oft  re- 
curring illness, — the  "thorn  in  the  flesh," — ^which  he 
calls  a  messenger  of  Satan  (II  Cor.  12:7);  and  the 
security  given  by  Jason  and  others  was  simply  bonds  to 
keep  the  peace.     Even  thus  the  Christian  religion  was 
placed  under  a  ban  as  tending  to  excite  tumult;  and 


THE  SECOND  MISSIONARY  JOURNEY     141 

Paul  with,  his  attendant,  Silas,  would  best  leave  the 
city  at  once,  lest  the  mob  at  sight  of  them  should  rouse 
again.  If  they  were  seized  and  brought  before  the 
rulers,  they  might  not  be  let  off  as  easily  as  Jason  had 
been.  So  that  very  night,  though  they  were  reluctant 
to  leave,  the  brethren  sent  them  away.  Unfortunately 
their  departure  did  not  end  the  persecution,  and  the 
Thessalonian  Christians  passed  through  as  bitter  a 
season  as  the  early  believers  in  Jerusalem  (I  Thess. 
2:14). 

Beroea,  the  city  to  which  the  brethren  sent  Paul  and 
Silas,  and  where  Timothy  soon  joined  them,  was  some 
forty  miles  from  Thessalonica  on  a  branch  road  and 
in  another  district  of  Macedonia.  The  reception  here 
was  most  encouraging.  The  Jews  were  open-minded 
and  gave  the  apostolic  teaching  a  ready  hearing,  test- 
ing it  by  their  OAvn  scriptures,  with  the  result  that  many 
believed,  and  Avith  them  many  prominent  Gentile 
women  and  their  husbands.  The  Christians  of  the  first 
century  are  often  represented  as  obscure  and  lowly 
people : — undoubtedly  the  majority  were  such,  for  they 
form  the  majority  in  any  community, — as  Lincoln 
once  said,  "  God  must  think  a  good  deal  of  the  common 
people  for  He  has  made  a  lot  of  them;''  but  Paul's 
churches  both  in  Macedonia  and  elsewhere,  always 
contained  a  fair  proportion  of  men  and  women  dis- 
tinguished for  position,  education  or  wealth.  It 
was  the  rabble,  and  not  the  prominent  people, 
who  readily  roused  against  the  Christians,  and  de- 
lighted in  persecuting  them.  "  Throughout  the  early 
centuries  the  city  mob, — ^most  superstitious,  unedu- 
cated, frivolous,  swayed  by  the  most  common- 
place motives, — was  everywhere  the  most  dangerous 
and  unfailing  enemy  of  Christianity,  and  often  carried 


142  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

the  imperial  officials  further  than  they  wished  in  the 
way  of  persecution  "  (Ramsay).  This  was  the  case  in 
Philippi  and  Thessalonica,  and  it  bade  fair  to  be  re- 
peated in  Beroea.  The  Thessalonian  Jews,  when  they 
learned  of  PauFs  success  here,  came  and  stirred  up  the 
crowd  against  him,  making  it  dangerous  for  him  to 
remain.  This  time  the  brethren  sent  him  out  of  the 
province  of  Macedonia;  and,  either  for  protection  or 
because  he  was  suffering  in  body  as  well  as  mind,  some 
of  them  went  with  him  all  the  way  to  Athens.  Whether 
they  had  Athens  in  mind  when  they  hurried  from 
Beroea,  or  fixed  upon  it  when  they  reached  the  nearest 
seaport  and  found  a  vessel  about  to  sail  thither,  is  unim- 
portant. In  Paul's  thought  Athens  was  simply  a  wait- 
ing place  until  he  could  return  to  Macedonia,  the  field 
to  which  the  Lord  had  called  him  and  which  he  would 
not  abandon  unless  divinely  commanded  to  do  so.  Silas 
and  Timothy  remained  in  Beroea  that  they  might  bring 
him  word  whenever  the  way  was  clear  for  his  return. 

3.     In  Athens. 

The  parting  charge  of  Paul  to  his  friends  as  they 
left  him  in  Athens  was  that  Silas  and  Timothy  should 
come  as  soon  as  possible:  he  chafed  under  inactivity, 
and  longed  to  hear  the  latest  news  from  his  churches. 
The  two  men  came  shortly,  but  with  no  cheering 
word; — ^the  fury  of  the  Thessalonian  persecutors  had 
not  abated,  the  Christians  were  suffering  greatly,  and 
his  return  was  still  blocked.  So  he  sent  them  back 
again, — Timothy  to  Thessalonica  with  messages  of 
counsel  and  comfort  (I  Thess.  3:1  f.),  and  Silas  prob- 
ably to  Philippi  to  learn  whether  that  church  also  was 
in  trouble  (II  Cor.  11:8-9);  and  "left  at  Athens 
alone,"  he  settled  himself  for  another  period  of  anxious 


THE  SECOND  MISSIONARY  JOURNEY     143 

waiting.  But  for  him  to  remain  silent  was  impossible, 
especially  in  such  a  city  as  Athens, — a  city  puffed  up 
with  conceit  of  knowledge  yet  despising  the  heavenly 
wisdom,  worshipping  a  multitude  of  deities  but  igno- 
rant of  God.  To  him  with  his  Jewisli  training  the  won- 
derful Greek  sculpture  was  simply  repulsive,  and  the 
city,  adorned  everywhere  with  statues  of  gods  and  god- 
desses, seemed  full  of  idols.  He  felt  there  was  sore 
need  of  the  message  he  burned  to  proclaim.  Moreover, 
Athens  thronged  with  sons  of  Roman  nobles,  sent  there 
to  be  educated ;  and  none  of  their  teachers,  Epicurean 
or  Stoic,  was  giving  them  the  true  preparation  for  a 
righteous  and  useful  life.  Paul's  heart,  which  ever 
went  out  towards  young  men,  yearned  to  reach  in  some 
way  these  future  rulers  of  the  Empire.  In  his  boy- 
hood he  had  lived  in  a  university  city,  so  the  atmos- 
phere of  this  most  famous  of  university  cities  was  not 
strange;  and  while  now  he  was  a  persecuted  and  de- 
spised Christian  missionary,  he  was  also  a  Roman  gen- 
tleman, acquainted  with  letters  and  philosophy,  and 
able  to  hold  his  own  with  the  Athenian  teachers.  Ac- 
cordingly, though  the  synagogue  was  open  to  him  and 
he  preached  in  it,  his  daily  resort  was  the  market-place, 
the  centre  of  all  the  city  life,  where  like  a  Christian 
Socrates,  he  entered  into  debate  with  whomever  he  met. 
Paul  never  was  inconspicuous  long,  and  now  he  soon 
had  a  crowd  surrounding  him  whenever  he  spoke ;  and 
though  some  sneered  and  others  were  puzzled,  all  lis- 
tened. The  curious  idea  that  he  was  speaking  of  more 
than  one  deity  when  he  preached  Jesus  and  the  resur- 
rection (17: 18),  must  have  arisen  from  the  fact  that 
resurrection  (anastasis)  in  Greek  is  a  feminine  noun, 
and  might  be  the  name  of  a  goddess,  especially  as  the 
Athenians  worshipped  many  abstract  deities  such  as 


1414  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

mercy,  sLame,  energy.  The  charge  that  he  was  setting 
forth  "  strange  gods,"  i.e.,  those  not  allowed  in  the 
city,  was  similar  to  that  made  against  Socrates,  and  in 
earlier,  stricter  days  might  have  brought  on  him  a 
similar  fate. 

There  was  in  Athens  a  court,  called  the  Areopagus 
because  it  held  its  meetings  on  the  hill  of  that  name 
(Mar's  Hill),  which  had  a  general  oversight  of  the 
morals  and  education  of  the  city;  and  as  soon  as  Paul 
fairly  began  work,  he  was  brought  before  that  court  to 
give  a  statement  of  what  he  was  teaching.  There  in 
the  midst  of  the  judges,  with  a  crowd  of  idle,  inquisi- 
tive listeners  surrounding  them,  he  made  his  famous 
speech  (17 :  22  f.).  Apart  from  its  impressive  contents 
it  is  an  admirable  illustration  of  his  generous  recogni- 
tion of  the  truths  in  heathen  religions,  and  his  skill 
in  adapting  himself  to  his  audiences,  or,  as  he  would 
put  it,  becoming  '^  all  things  to  all  men  that  I  may  by 
all  means  save  some  "  (I  Cor.  9 :  22).  Beginning  with 
a  courteous,  though  slightly  equivocal,  compliment  upon 
their  religiousness  as  shown  by  the  countless  objects  of 
worship  and  especially  by  an  altar  dedicated  even  to 
an  unknown  god,  he  said  that  his  mission  was  to  tell 
of  the  unknown  God  to  whom  their  ignorant  worship 
bore  witness.  Then  in  eloquent  words  on  a  level  with 
the  highest  Greek  thought  and  adorned  with  quotations 
from  the  Greek  poets,  he  set  forth  the  nature  and  work 
of  the  One  God,  the  relations  of  all  men  to  Him  and 
to  one  another,  and  the  absurdity  of  idolatry.  Next, 
he  would  have  preached  Christ ;  but,  as  he  pointed  out 
the  need  of  repentance  in  preparation  for  a  day  of 
judgment,  and  the  proof  from  His  resurrection  that 
God  had  appointed  Jesus  to  be  the  judge  of  the  world, 
the  court  decided  it  had  heard  enough  and  adjourned. 


THE  SECOND  MISSIONARY  JOURNEY     145 

The  earlier  part  of  his  speech  had  been  listened  to  with 
only  qualified  approval  by  the  surrounding  audience, — 
the  proud  Greek  would  not  agree  that  God  had  made 
him  of  one  with  Jew  and  barbarian, — and  his  words 
about  the  resurrection,  a  doctrine  so  novel  to  Greek 
ears,  made  some  scoff  and  others  desire  to  hear  more. 
There  was  no  opportunity  to  tell  them  more;  the  ver- 
dict of  the  judges  was  that  Paul  should  not  be  allowed 
to  teach  and  must  leave  the  city  (18 :  1).  Timothy  and 
Silas  had  not  yet  had  time  to  return;  so  Paul  crossed 
the  isthmus  to  Corinth,  fifty  miles  away,  there  to  wait 
for  them.  His  brief  labours  in  Athens  were  not  wholly 
in  vain ;  one  of  the  judges  of  the  Areopagus,  Dionysius, 
and  a  woman  of  the  street,  Damaris,  and  certain  others 
became  believers.  But  we  hear  nothing  of  a  church  in 
Athens.  Self-conceit,  shallow  philosophy  and  flippancy 
form  a  poor  soil  for  the  word  of  God. 

4.     In  Corinth. 

Corinth,  the  capital  of  Achaia,  was  a  great  seaport, 
famous  for  its  wealth,  and  notorious  for  its  licentious 
worship  of  Aphrodite;  its  life  would  in  many  ways  be 
like  that  of  Antioch  in  Syria  with  which  Paul  was  so 
familiar.  He  came  to  it  expecting  to  stay  only  a  few 
weeks ;  he  did  stay  nearly  two  years.  What  he  planned 
was  to  wait  there  in  loneliness  till  word  came  that  he 
might  return  to  Macedonia;  what  he  accomplished  was 
the  creation  of  a  strong  church,  which  from  its  location 
was  in  touch  with  almost  the  whole  Roman  world,  and 
which  we  know  more  intimately  than  any  other  of  the 
first  century.  The  strain  of  long-continued  persecution, 
the  burden  of  sympathy  for  his  friends  in  trouble,  the 
discouragement  from  the  scanty  fruit  of  his  labours  in 
Athens,  and  possibly  a  recurrence  of  his  "  thorn  in  the 


146  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

flesh/'  liad  worn  liim  down  physically  (I  Cor.  2:3); 
so  at  first  he  undertook  no  missionary  work  except  a 
little  discussion  in  the  synagogue  each  Sabbath.  But 
work  for  daily  bread  had  to  b^  sought  promptly,  as  his 
funds  by  this  time  must  have  been  exhausted.  Accord- 
ingly, he  found  two  fellow  exiles,  who  were  working 
at  his  own  craft  of  tentmaking,  and  joined  them  in 
residence  and  occupation.  They  were  a  Pontian  Jew, 
Aquila,  and  his  wife  Priscilla  or  Prisca ;  and  they  had 
recently,  say  in  49  a.d.,  been  forced  to  leave  Rome 
when  Claudius  ended  the  constant  disturbances  between 
Christian  Jews  and  their  unconverted  brethren  by  ex- 
pelling both  parties.  Probably  they  already  were  Chris- 
tians; and  of  the  two  Priscilla  was  either  the  natural 
leader  or  else,  as  Ramsay  thinks,  a  Roman  lady  of 
higher  rank,  for  her  name  is  usually  placed  first  by 
Luke  and  Paul.  The  thoughts  that  filled  Paul's  mind 
as  he  toiled  at  the  loom  day  after  day  can  be  gathered 
from  his  own  statements  (I  Cor.  2:  1  f.).  He  felt  that 
his  preaching  in  Athens  had  made  so  little  impression 
because  he  had  striven  to  meet  philosophers  with  philoso- 
phy, and  to  win  hearers  by  excellency  of  speech,  instead 
of  giving  himself  wholly  to  a  direct  presentation  of  the 
gospel  itself.  He  had  hesitated  to  hold  up  the  cross  in 
that  university  city  lest  the  cultured  Greeks  might  jeer 
at  it.  But  now  he  recognized  that  a  crucified  Christ 
is  the  power  of  God  and  the  wisdom  of  God,  and  he 
determined  henceforth  to  have  no  other  theme. 

So  passed  the  slow  days  of  waiting  until  the  arrival 
of  Silas  and  Timothy ;  when  the  one  freed  Paul's  hands 
from  labour  by  a  gift  of  funds  from  the  church  in 
Philippi  (II  Cor.  11:  8-9),  and  the  other  lifted  a  bur- 
den from  Paul's  heart  by  the  tidings  that  the  Thessa- 
lonians,  though  still  sore  beset,  were  standing  fast  in 


THE  SECOND  MISSIONARY  JOUKNEY     147 

the  Lord  (I  Thess.  3:6  f.).  His  return  to  Macedonia 
remained  unadvisable ;  but  later  on  it  might  come  about 
(3:  11)  ;  and  meanwhile  Corinth  was  the  field  to  which 
the  Lord  had  directed  his  steps.  Cheered  in  spirit,  re- 
leased from  the  loom,  and  assisted  by  his  trained  fellow- 
workers,  Paul  gave  himself  to  witnessing  for  Christ 
among  the  Jews  (Acts  18:5).  His  increased  activity 
soon  produced  its  usual  effect  of  setting  the  Jews  in 
hostile  array,  and  closing  the  synagogue  against  him; 
whereupon  he  publicly  and  dramatically  declared  that 
henceforth  he  would  go  to  the  Gentiles,  and  he  boldly 
opened  a  preaching-place  the  very  next  door  to  the  syna- 
gogue in  the  house  of  Titus  Justus,  a  God-fearing  Gen- 
tile who  probably  was  already  a  convert.  The  exaspera- 
tion of  the  Jews  at  this  was  small  compared  with  their 
rage  when  Crispus,  the  ruler  of  their  synagogue,  was 
converted  with  all  his  household,  and  was  baptized  by 
Paul  himself,  though  the  apostle  usually  left  the  work 
of  baptism  to  others  (I  Cor.  1:  14).  N'ot  many  other 
Jews  became  believers,  but  many  Gentiles  did,  among 
whom  were  Gains,  noted  for  his  hospitality  (Kom. 
16:23)  and  the  household,  probably  the  domestic 
slaves,  of  Stephanas,  "  the  first-fruits  of  Achaia ''  (I 
Cor.  16:  15).  Promising  as  was  his  work  in  Corinth, 
Paul  felt  that  he  must  soon  end  it  by  returning  to 
Macedonia,  and  feared  that  it  might  even  sooner  be 
ended  by  a  persecution  like  that  in  Thessalonica.  But 
just  at  this  point  there  came,  as  at  Troas,  a  vision  in 
the  night  which  made  a  turning-point  and  shaped  his 
future  course.  The  Lord  told  him  to  remain  in 
Corinth,  to  preach  without  fear  of  enemies,  and  to  rest 
assured  that  his  labours  would  win  many  souls.  Ac- 
cordingly he  settled  down  for  a  prolonged  stay,  and  was 
transformed    from    an    itinerant    evangelist    into    the 


148  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

pastor  of  a  struggling  church  in  a  great,  godless  metrop- 
olis. The  care  of  converts,  the  Christian  nurture  of 
children,  the  instruction  of  adults,  the  discipline  of  the 
wayward,  the  reclamation  of  the  lapsed,  the  ministry 
to  the  poor  and  the  sick,  the  comforting  of  those  in  sor- 
row, the  constant  fight  against  surrounding  forces  of 
evil, — all  these  duties  and  privileges  of  a  pastor's  life, 
the  apostle  now  came  to  know  intimately.  It  was  a  rich 
experience,  increasing  his  acquaintance  with  the  needs 
of  humanity  and  with  the  ability  of  the  gospel  of  Christ 
to  supply  them.  Some  of  its  fruits  are  preserved  for  us 
in  Paul's  letters  to  this  church  in  Corinth. 

We  know  only  one  incident  of  the  months  that  fol- 
lowed. The  Jews  did  not  succeed  in  blocking  Paul's 
work  because,  probably,  they  could  not  gain  the  support 
of  the  authorities;  but  when  Gallio,  an  older  brother 
of  Seneca  and  a  man  of  high  character  and  genial  spirit, 
was  made  proconsul  of  Achaia  in  the  summer  of  51 
A.D.,  they  were  hopeful  of  success,  and  brought  Paul 
before  him,  asserting  that  what  the  apostle  taught  was 
not  orthodox  Judaism,  and  therefore  could  not  claim 
exemption  from  the  Eoman  law  against  foreign  relig- 
ions. With  vociferous  assertions  and  involved  explana- 
tions of  the  differences  between  the  two  creeds,  they 
wearied  and  disgusted  Gallio.  It  seemed  to  him  a  mat- 
ter of  mere  names  and  words,  unimportant  and  of  no 
interest;  at  best,  it  was  a  controversy  which  they  had 
full  right  to  settle  in  their  synagogue ;  so  without  wait- 
ing to  hear  Paul's  reply,  he  ordered  the  courtroom 
cleared  of  the  whole  noisy,  excited  crowd.  The  upshot 
of  the  matter  was  that  Sosthenes,  ruler  of  the  syna- 
gogue, received  a  beating  even  before  they  left  the 
room,  while  Gallio  looked  on  with  indifference  or  tacit 
approval.    Who  beat  Sosthenes  and  why,  will  never  be 


THE  SECOND  MISSIONARY  JOURNEY     149 

known : — was  it  tlie  Gentiles  who  took  this  opportunity 
to  pay  off  old  scores  with  the  Jews,  or  had  this  ruler 
of  the  synagogue  also  become  a  Christian  (cf.  I  Cor. 
1:1),  and  so,  failing  to  punish  Paul,  the  Jews  pounded 
him  ?  This  was  the  second  time  that  Paul  had  appeared 
before  a  proconsul  (13:  7)  ;  and  Luke  tells  the  incident 
to  show  that  the  Roman  government  in  the  early  days 
of  Christianity  was  uniformly  friendly.  The  attitude 
of  these  two  high  officials  may  have  encouraged  Paul 
later  on  to  make  his  appeal  to  Caesar. 

5.    The  Two  Letters  to  the  Thessalonians. 

The  churches  that  Paul  founded  have  long  since 
ceased  to  exist ;  but  some  of  the  letters  he  wrote  to  them 
are  in  our  hands  to-day  and  are  his  most  lasting  monu- 
ment, though  doubtless  they  were  what  he  valued  least, 
counting  them  merely  an  imperfect  substitute  for  a  per- 
sonal visit.  With  the  exception  of  Romans  he  wrote 
them  hurriedly,  never  dreaming  that  they  would  be 
treasured  throughout  the  centuries  and  become  second 
only  to  the  words  of  Jesus  in  formative  power.  Had 
he  foreseen  this,  could  he  have  written  them?  Would 
not  the  tremendous  responsibility  of  framing  each 
separate  sentence  have  paralyzed  his  pen  ?  We  are  ac- 
customed to  call  them  epistles ;  but  if  we  make  the  dis- 
tinction that  a  letter  is  simply  an  imperfect  substitute 
for  one  side  of  a  conversation  while  an  epistle  is  a  dis- 
guised form  of  an  essay  or  treatise,  Paul's  epistles  are 
all  of  them  really  letters.  They  are  what  he  would  say 
if  he  could  talk  with  the  recipients;  and  they  cannot 
be  understood  without  bearing  in  mind  both  his  cir- 
cumstances and  theirs.  To  read  them  as  we  do  a  book, 
thinking  only  of  their  contents,  is  misleading;  and  to 
treat  them   as   theological  essays   is   absurdly  unfair. 


150  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

The  J  all  are  written  to  Christians  whom  he  knew  or, 
in  the  case  of  Romans,  wished  to  know;  and  they  are 
intensely  personal,  pulsing  with  emotion,  full  of  sud- 
den transitions,  broken  in  utterance  sometimes, — as  if 
he  were  thinking  aloud.  What  we  ever  marvel  at  is  the 
way  in  which  he  pours  forth  the  deepest  Christian 
truths  with  evident  expectation  that  his  readers  will  at 
once  grasp  them,  though  we  to-day  have  to  ask  aid 
from  commentators  and  expositors.  In  form  the  letters 
are  much  the  same  as  the  heathen  letters  of  that  period ; 
and  their  contents  can  usually  be  divided  into  a  doc- 
trinal part  followed  by  a  practical  part  and  closing  with 
personal  messages.  With  the  exception  of  Philemon 
they  are  written  by  an  amanuensis  (cf.  Rom.  16:  22), 
probably  because  Paul  had  bad  eyesight  or  was  a  poor 
penman  (Gal.  4:15;  6:11);  but  there  are  always 
added  a  few  lines  in  his  own  hand  to  authenticate  the 
whole. 

First  Thessalonians  was  called  forth  by  the  report — 
and  perhaps  a  letter  from  the  church- — which  Timothy 
brought  when  he  came  down  from  Thessalonica  to 
Corinth,  a  report  whose  contents  can  be  inferred  from 
the  messages  Paul  at  once  sent  back,  probably  using 
some  other  messenger  than  Timothy  who  would  be 
needed  in  Corinth.  After  a  salutation  in  which  he 
courteously  joins  his  companions  with  himself,  as  he 
usually  did,  the  apostle  first  gives  thanks  to  God  for 
the  zeal  and  remarkable  success  of  the  Thessalonian 
brethren  in  spreading  far  and  wide  the  word  of  the 
Lord  (1 :  1-10).  Next,  he  has  to  defend  himself  against 
those  enemies  who,  having  succeeded  in  driving  him 
away,  are  now  striving  to  kill  his  influence  by  slander- 
ing his  life  and  motives, — aided  in  this  by  the  fact  that 
Paul  came  to  Thessalonica  a  complete  stranger  and 


THE  SECOND  MISSIONARY  JOURNEY    151 

departed  after  a  comparatively  brief  stay  just  when 
persecution  was  arising.  This  forces  him  to  point  out 
how  unselfishly  and  unblameably  he  lived  and  laboured 
when  he  founded  the  church  (2:  1-12)  ;  which,  in  turn, 
calls  for  a  second  thanksgiving  for  the  way  in  which 
the  church  accepted  his  divine  message  even  at  the  cost 
of  bitter  persecution  (13-16).  In  proof  of  his  affec- 
tion, and  perhaps  to  repel  the  charge  that  he  had  ceased 
to  care  for  them,  he  dwells  at  some  length  upon  his 
repeated  attempts  to  return,  and  his  joy  when  Timothy 
brought  glad  tidings  of  their  faith  and  love  and  remem- 
brance of  him  (2:  17-3:  10) ;  and  he  closes  this  part 
of  his  letter  with  a  prayer  that  he  may  meet  them 
again,  and  that  through  increasing  love  toward  all  men 
their  hearts  may  be  established  blameless  in  holiness 
(11-13).  Thus  far  the  tenor  of  his  words  has  been  en- 
couragement and  sympathy ;  now  it  changes  to  warning 
and  exhortation.  Personal  purity  was  a  virtue  that  had 
to  be  constantly  enjoined  upon  Gentile  converts  because 
the  heathen  standard  was  low,  and  the  temptations  were 
many.  Though  Paul  had  warned  the  believers  in 
Thessalonica  against  fornication,  and  doubtless  had 
given  them  the  Jerusalem  decrees,  he  has  to  warn  them 
again,  because  their  persecution  by  the  Jews  would  dis- 
pose them  to  reject  the  decrees,  and  his  favourite  doc- 
trine of  Christian  liberty  could  easily  be  perverted  into 
license  for  licentiousness.  Now  he  sternly  declares  that 
the  sin  of  unchastity  is  not  merely  a  rejection  of  his 
own  injunctions, — it  is  a  rejection  of  God,  resulting  in 
loss  of  His  Holy  Spirit  (4:  1-8). 

The  remainder  of  the  letter  is  devoted  to  correcting 
certain  unfortunate  results  of  his  former  teaching. 
He  had  dwelt  upon  the  time  when  Christ  would  return 
and  be  again  with  His  people, — in  technical  phrase,  the 


152  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

Parousia  (II  Thess.  2:5);  and  the  thought  of  this 
glorious  day  had  greatly  helped  them  to  endure  their 
present  afflictions.  But  over-emphasis  of  Christ's  com- 
ing  was  producing  certain  effects,  often  reproduced  in 
later  centuries.  The  believers  v^ere  restless,  impatient 
of  control,  neglecting  ordinary  tasks;  some  had  ceased 
to  work,  and  had  to  be  supported  by  the  rest;  and  all 
were  striving  to  fix  the  day  and  hour  of  the  coming 
of  the  Lord.  It  was  taken  for  granted  that  believers 
who  died  before  the  Parousia  would  miss  the  joys  of 
that  blessed  time;  and  this  added  a  new  sorrow  to 
death.  Paul  endeavours  to  set  the  church  right  in  these 
matters.  He  enjoins  them  to  show  brotherly  love  to 
the  needy,  but  to  aim  at  a  life  of  steady,  faithful, 
manual  labour  such  as  will  win  respect  and  supply  their 
wants  (4:9-12).  He  explains  that  by  a  resurrection 
those  asleep  in  Jesus  will  share  His  coming  equally 
with  those  still  alive  (13-18),  and  that  we  cannot  know 
the  day  of  the  Lord,  but  should  ever  be  ready  for  the 
surprise  of  its  dawn  (5:  1-11).  And  he  exhorts  them 
to  maintain  a  church-life  of  order,  peace,  brotherly 
helpfulness,  recognition  of  the  Spirit,  and  abstinence 
from  every  form  of  evil  (12-22).  The  dictation  closes 
with  a  prayer  for  their  complete  sanctification  (23-24). 
Then  Paul  takes  the  stylus  from  the  amanuensis,  and 
with  his  own  hand  adds  to  the  papyrus  roll  a  few  brief 
messages,  ending  with  a  benediction,  such  as  he  would 
use  in  closing  a  conversation  with  them  (25-28). 

Second  Thessalonians  is  little  more  than  a  post- 
script to  the  first  letter.  It  resembles  the  first  so 
strongly  that  some  critics  maintain  it  is  unauthentic, — 
a  spurious  imitation ;  but  had  it  differed  strongly  from 
the  first,  other  critics  would  say  that  Paul  could  not 
have  been  its  author.     Verily,  the  two-edged  sword  of 


THE  SECOND  MISSIONARY  JOURNEY     153 

hostile  criticism  is  a  formidable  weapon.  The  news 
that  came  back  from  Thessalonica,  apparently  in  an- 
other letter  from  the  church,  was  not  encouraging: — - 
the  persecution  still  continued;  and,  as  often  happens 
in  times  of  great  stress  and  danger,  certain  enthusiasts, 
professing  to  speak  in  the  spirit  or  to  find  hidden  mean- 
ings in  the  Scriptures  or  to  develop  the  thought  of 
PauFs  first  letter  (2:2)  were  now  proclaiming  the 
Parousia  as  just  at  hand,  thus  causing  much  excite- 
ment and  making  quiet  labour  and  healthy  church-life 
almost  impossible.  Paul  could  not  ignore  this  unfor- 
tunate state  of  things,  so  he  wrote  again.  He  begins 
as  before  with  words  of  praise  and  heartening 
(1:  3-12).  Then  he  beseeches  them  not  to  be  beguiled 
into  thinking  that  Jesus  is  soon  to  come,  for  certain 
other  events  still  in  the  future  must  precede  the  day  of 
the  Lord  (2:  1-12).  Let  the  brethren,  therefore,  with 
confidence  of  salvation  hold  fast  to  the  teachings  they 
have  received  (13-15);  and  may  Christ  Himself  and 
the  Father  comfort  and  establish  them  (16).  He  asks 
in  turn  their  prayers  for  the  work  and  workers  in 
Corinth  (3:1-5);  and  under  penalty  of  discipline  by 
the  church  if  they  refuse  to  obey,  he  sternly  commands 
the  idle  and  disorderly  to  imitate  the  life  of  orderly, 
self-supporting  labour  led  by  him  when  among  them 
(6-15).  A  benediction  and  the  usual  autograph  mes- 
sages close  the  letter  (16-18). 

To  the  present-day  missionary  these  two  letters  are 
of  great  value  in  their  disclosure  of  the  way  Paul  lived 
and  laboured  and  loved  when  striving  to  plant  a 
church  in  a  heathen  city,  and  the  practical  lessons  in 
Christian  life  he  had  to  impress  upon  his  converts. 
To  the  theologian  they  are  of  less  importance,  their 
main  contribution  being  in  the  field  of  eschatology, — 


154  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

a  field  from  which  the  reaper  usually  gathers  many 
weeds  and  little  wheat.  We  have  seen  the  reasons  why 
the  early  Christians  believed  that  Jesus  would  soon 
return ;  evidently  Paul  at  this  time  shared  that  belief ; 
but  though  he  thought  the  event  would  take  place  in 
his  generation  (I  Thess.  4:  17),  he  was  sure  it  was 
not  immediately  at  hand.  The  passage  stating  what 
must  first  take  place  (II  Thess.  2:  1-12)  is  hopelessly 
obscure,  partly  because  to  understand  it  we  must 
know  what  Paul  had  told  the  Thessalonians  when  he 
was  with  them  (Id.  2:5),  and  partly  because,  like 
most  apocalyptic  messages,  it  was  put  in  enigmatic 
form  so  that  if  it  fell  into  the  hands  of  enemies,  they 
could  not  grasp  its  meaning.  From  this  precaution 
we  may  infer  that  "  the  man  of  sin  "  and  ^^  that  which 
restraineth "  were  political  persons  or  powers ;  more 
than  this  is  mere  guesswork,  mightily  attractive  to 
some  minds.  In  later  years  Paul  seems  either  to  have 
recognized  that  the  Kingdom  of  God  would  be  estab- 
lished not  by  sudden  catastrophe  but  by  slow  growth, 
"  first  the  blade,  then  the  ear,  then  the  full  com  in 
the  ear"  (Mark  4:28),  or  else  to  have  learned  from 
such  experiences  as  those  at  Thessalonica  the  wisdom 
of  not  emphasizing  the  Parousia.  The  time  and  cir- 
cumstances of  the  coming  of  Our  Lord  are  as  unprofit- 
able subjects  for  constant  thought  as  the  time  and  cir- 
cumstances of  one's  own  death,  and  for  the  same 
reason, — few  can  dwell  upon  them  without  neglecting 
the  commonplace  duties  of  ordinary  life,  and  losing 
the  calm,  trustful  spirit  of  Christ's  little  ones. 

6.     The  Return  to  Antioch. 

Paul  had  laboured  in  Corinth  eighteen  months  and 
more:  he  had  founded  a  church  and  brought  it  to  the 


THE  SECOND  MISSIONARY  JOURNEY     155 

point  where  other  men  could  care  for  it;  there  was  no 
imperative  reason  for  his  remaining  longer.  What 
was  in  his  heart  we  know  from  his  own  statements 
later, — ^he  longed  to  go  to  Rome,  the  center  of  the 
great  empire  he  was  striving  to  win  for  Christ  (Rom. 
1 :  9-15 ;  15  :  14-29).  Nothing  was  easier  than  to  make 
the  journey,  for  ships  from  Corinth  were  sailing 
thither  every  week;  but,  as  he  reveals,  there  were  two 
obstacles  in  the  way.  One  was  largely  a  matter  of 
sentiment : — he  took  pride  in  doing  pioneer  work,  aim- 
ing always  to  preach  the  gospel  where  Christ  was  not 
already  known;  and  Christianity  had  reached  Rome 
long  before  this  time.  This  obstacle  he  got  around  by 
deciding  that  Rome  might  be  treated,  not  as  a  field 
of  work,  but  as  merely  a  stopping-place,  where  he  could 
visit  the  brethren  and  impart  to  them  some  spiritual 
gifts  on  his  way  to  Spain.  The  other  obstacle  was 
more  serious: — ^he  felt  that  he  must  finish  his  task  in 
the  East  before  he  went  on  a  journey  to  the  far  West, 
perhaps  never  to  return.  He  had  planted  the  gospel 
in  three  great  Roman  provinces,  Galatia,  Macedonia 
and  Achaia;  but  Asia  remained  unevangelized.  If  he 
could  establish  a  church  in  Ephesus,  the  capital  of  that 
province,  and  also  could  revisit  the  churches  already 
established,  he  might  rightly  feel  that  he  had  "  no  more 
place  in  these  regions."  With  this  program  before  him 
he  sailed  from  Cenchreae,  the  eastern  harbour  of 
Corinth,  for  Syria.  What  the  vow  was  that  caused 
him  to  shear  his  head  before  he  went  on  board  ship, 
we  are  not  told  and  it  is  idle  to  guess ;  but  we  are  inter- 
ested to  see  that,  despite  all  his  liberty  from  the  Law, 
he  still  showed  in  this  Jewish  vow  the  persistent  influ- 
ence of  his  early  training. 

Ephesus  was  a  port  at  which  a  ship  would  naturally 


156  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

stop  for  passengers  and  lading;  and  as  Paul's  ship 
stayed  there  over  a  Sabbath,  he  seized  the  opportunity 
to  preach  in  the  synagogue.  The  Jews  listened  with 
deep  interest ;  possibly  Epaenetus,  ^'  the  first  fruits  of 
Asia''  (Kom.  16:5)  was  then  converted;  and  they 
urged  Paul  to  stay  longer.  The  request  showed  that 
the  door  to  Asia,  previously  closed  (16:6),  was  now 
open;  yet  Paul  was  not  quite  ready  to  enter  it.  An 
explanation  found  in  some  early  texts  is  that  he  was 
desirous  first  to  attend  a  feast  at  Jerusalem;  more 
likely  his  desire  was  to  revisit  Antioch.  That  city  was 
now  the  headquarters  of  Gentile  missions  with  the 
great  leaders,  Peter,  Barnabas,  Paul  himself  and 
others,  closely  connected  with  it  and  often  there.  That 
he  should  wish  to  keep  in  touch  with  his  fellow-work- 
ers and  their  work  was  natural :  he  craved  the  compan- 
ionship of  those  whose  aims  were  his  ov^i,  and  he  knew 
that  the  advance  upon  heathendom  could  not  be  united 
and  well-ordered  unless  the  leaders  took  counsel  to- 
gether. Anyone  who  has  been  for  months  and  years 
in  lonely  mission  work  can  understand  what  a  season 
in  Antioch  would  mean  to  Paul.  He  dared  not  tarry 
now  in  Ephesus ;  for  the  time,  we  suppose,  was  late  in 
the  autumn  of  51  a.d.,  and  travel  would  soon  be  diffi- 
cult or  impossible.  So  he  took  his  leave  with  a  promise 
to  return,  doing  this  with  an  easier  mind  because  Pris- 
cilla  and  Aquila,  who  had  crossed  from  Corinth  with 
him,  were  going  to  remain  at  Ephesus  until  he 
returned. 

Paul  sailed  to  Caesarea  where,  leaving  the  ship,  "  he 
went  up  and  saluted  the  church  and  went  down  to 
Antioch"  (18:22).  Some  hold  that  the  church  here 
designated  was  the  one  at  Caesarea;  but  the  terms  to 
go  up  and  to  go  down  are  always  used  for  a  visit  to 


THE  SECOND  MISSIONARY  JOURNEY     157 

Jerusalem,  that  city  on  the  crest  of  the  Judean  hills; 
and  the  significant  "  If  God  will/^  which  accompanied 
his  promise  to  return  to  Ephesus,  hints  of  perils  such 
as  confronted  him  in  the  Jewish  stronghold  (cf. 
21:  11;  23: 12).  It  is  objected  that  Paul  would  not 
visit  the  mother  church  now  because  he  had  no  gift 
to  bring  its  poor;  but  what  proof  is  there  that  he  did 
not  have  a  gift?  The  church  in  Corinth  was  able  to 
provide  it ;  and  perhaps  Paul's  eagerness  to  carry  it  in 
person  explains  why  he  sailed  to  Caesarea  instead  of 
taking  the  direct  route  by  land  or  sea  to  Antioch. 
True,  Luke  does  not  mention  it;  but  neither  does  he 
mention  the  gift  brought  at  the  next  visit,  save  inci- 
dentally when  reporting  Paul's  speech  before  Felix 
(24:  17).  Moreover,  Paul  when  telling  the  Galatians 
about  the  injunction  to  remember  the  poor,  adds 
"Wliich  very  thing  I  have  also  taken  pains  to  do" 
(Gal.  2:10,  Burton's  rendering):  must  not  his  refer- 
ence be  to  a  gift  at  this  particular  visit  ?  How  it  was 
received  we  do  not  know,  save  as  we  infer  a  qualified 
approval  from  the  effort  he  made  to  collect  a  large  and 
representative  offering  for  his  next  visit.  There  was 
little  to  detain  him  in  Jerusalem  except,  it  may  be,  to 
fulfil  his  vow;  and  after  greeting  the  church  he 
hastened  to  Antioch,  the  city  which  in  his  homelessness 
seemed  more  to  him  like  home  than  any  other. 
Whether  Silas  accompanied  him  as  far  as  Jerusalem, 
his  original  residence,  and  there  remained  or  what  be- 
came of  him,  we  do  not  know :  Corinth  is  the  last  place 
where  we  hear  of  him,  unless  he  is  the  Silvanus  who 
was  Peter's  amanuensis  (I  Peter  5:12). 

Paul  had  been  away  from  Antioch  nearly  three 
years,  and  had  travelled  more  than  two  thousand 
miles.     What  had  he  accomplished?     He  had  planted 


158  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

churches  in  two  important  provinces,  Macedonia  and 
Achaia,  and  the  gospel  was  spreading  rapidly  in  both 
of  them.  With  the  sagacity  of  a  great  leader  in  select- 
ing able  assistants  he  had  gathered  a  noble  band  of 
fellow-workers,  some  of  whom  we  shall  meet  again  and 
some  whose  later  career  is  not  recorded.  He  had  de- 
veloped his  scheme  of  a  world-wide  evangelization  in 
which  province  after  province  should  be  claimed  for 
Christ  by  planting  churches  at  the  great  centres  from 
which  the  evangel  could  be  carried  into  the  smaller 
places.  And  he  had  been  forced  in  his  long  stay  at 
Corinth  to  study  the  problems  of  applied  Christianity, 
and  to  consider  what  the  gospel  means  for  the  family 
as  well  as  for  the  individual.  Unfortunately  a  sim- 
ilar consideration  of  what  the  gospel  means  for  the 
state,  was  prevented  by  the  political  disability  of 
Christians  in  that  century.  Had  Paul  found  occasion 
to  turn  his  mind  to  this,  and  had  he  set  forth  in  his 
strong  way  the  ideal  of  a  Christian  state,  how  different 
might  have  been  the  course  of  Christendom  in  later 
! 


IX 

THE  BATTLE  FOR  CHRI8TIA:Nr  EQUALITY 

BECAUSE  the  second  half  of  Acts  is  devoted  to 
Paul,  and  because  so  many  of  his  letters  have 
been  preserved,  he  seems  to  us  the  one  great 
missionary  in  the  Apostolic  Age.  It  is  hard  to  realize 
that  other  Christian  workers  must  have  been  nearly,  if 
not  quite,  as  active  and  devoted.  Who  were  they? 
Who  preached  Christ  to  Alexandria,  that  second  largest 
city  of  the  Roman  world  with  far  more  Jews  than 
Jerusalem  ?  Who  carried  the  gospel  through  the  broad 
Mesopotamian  valley  and  along  the  shores  of  the  Black 
Sea?  What  were  the  Twelve  themselves  doing  in  all 
these  years  ?  In  what  form  was  the  message  of  salva- 
tion presented  by  preachers  whose  training  and  spir- 
itual experience  differed  greatly  from  that  of  Paul? 
And  what  were  the  problems  placed  before  them  by 
races  unlike  the  peoples  of  Asia  Minor,  Greece  and 
Italy  ?  Here  is  a  great  and  fascinating  chapter  of  his- 
tory which  must  remain  unwritten,  save  a  few  frag- 
mentary paragraphs.  The  foundation  stones  of  the 
Christian  church  stand  foursquare  and  firm,  but  thej 
are  buried  out  of  sight.  Even  the  mother  church  in 
Jerusalem  fades  from  our  view,  the  moment  it  ceases 
to  touch  the  life  of  Paul ;  and  we  almost  forget  that  it 
remained  the  recognized  leader  until  the  Jews  plunged 
into  their  mad  revolt  against  Rome.  The  first  chapter 
of  its  history  was  under  Peter,  and  we  have  already 
studied  it.  The  second  chapter  was  under  James,  the 
brother  of  Jesus ;  let  us  now  consider  it. 

159 


160  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

1.    James,  the  Brother  of  Jesus. 

John  tells  us  that  up  to  the  closing  months  of  Jesus^ 
public  ministry  His  brethren  did  not  believe  on  Him, 
i.e.,  did  not  accept  Him  as  the  Messiah  (John  Y:5). 
Their  unbelief  is  not  surprising  when  we  consider  how 
erroneous  were  their  Messianic  expectations,  and  how 
hard  and  enigmatic  were  some  of  His  sayings;  even 
the  apostles  with  all  the  help  that  came  from  daily 
intercourse  were  slow  to  recognize  His  Messiahship. 
His  brethren  may  have  loved  and  venerated  Him,  and 
yet  have  feared  that  claims  so  tremendous  as  His  were 
begotten  by  an  enthu^asm  which  had  unbalanced  His 
mind  (Mark  3:21).  Probably  it  was  the  resurrection 
appearance  to  James  that  changed  the  perplexity  of  the 
four  brothers  into  full  belief;  for  we  find  them  await- 
ing Pentecost  among  the  little  group  of  believers  (Acts 
1 :  14).  Henceforth  they  seem  to  occupy  a  definite  and 
unique  position,  midway  between  the  original  apostles 
and  the  ordinary  disciples  (I  Cor.  9:5;  Gal.  1:19). 
James  remained  in  Jerusalem  while  the  apostles  in- 
creasingly were  in  foreign  lands ;  and  his  constant  pres- 
ence as  well  as  his  ability  caused  him  to  be  recognized 
as  the  head  of  the  church  there  and,  therefore,  of  all  the 
churches  in  Palestine  (Gal.  2:9;  Acts  15 :  13  ;  21 :  18). 
Indeed,  it  is  not  impossible  that  he  had  been  duly  chosen 
to  fill  the  place  in  the  Twelve  left  vacant  by  the  death 
of  James,  brother  of  John.  By  his  sternly  austere  life 
he  won  the  title  of  James  the  Just,  and  gained  high 
favor  with  all  the  Jews;  but  in  61  a.d.,  when  the  death 
of  Festus  left  Palestine  without  a  Roman  procurator 
until  the  arrival  of  Albinus,  the  Sadducees  led  by  the 
high  priest,  Ananus,  took  advantage  of  this  opportu- 
nity, and  put  him  and  certain  other  Christians  to  death 


THE  BATTLE  FOR  CHRISTIAN  EQUALITY     161 

by  stoning  on  the  trumped  up  charge  of  violating  the 
sacred  laws.  Symeon,  nephew  of  Joseph  and  son  of 
Clopas,  was  chosen  by  the  church  as  his  successor;  and 
probably  if  the  Jerusalem  church  after  70  a.d.  had  not 
sunk  into  insignificance,  there  might  have  been  an  eccle- 
siastical dynasty  of  the  kinsmen  of  Jesus. 

2.     The  Epistle  of  James. 

When  the  canon  of  the  New  Testament  was  being 
formed  in  the  second  and  third  centuries,  certain  books 
won  a  place  in  it  only  after  much  dispute  as  to  whether 
they  were  authoritative,  sacred  writings.  One  of  these 
disputed  books  (antilegomena)  was  the  Epistle  of 
James,  some  of  the  objections  to  it  being  that  it  was  not 
written  by  an  apostle  or  under  apostolic  direction,  that 
it  contained  little  distinctly  Christian  teaching,  and 
that  it  contradicted  Paul  as  to  the  relative  value  of 
faith  and  works.  Though  the  book  is  firmly  in  the 
canon,  the  objections  still  have  to  be  considered.  Who 
did  write  it  ?  The  superscription  says,  ^'  James,  a  ser- 
vant of  God  and  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ"  (1:1), 
which  might  designate  any  devout  Christian  bearing  the 
very  common  name  of  James,  but  would  seem  to  de- 
Scribe  a  James  so  well  known  as  to  need  no  further 
identification.  Next  to  the  brother  of  John,  who  died 
too  early  to  be  the  author,  the  only  prominent  James 
in  apostolic  times  is  the  brother  of  Jesus;  and  tradi- 
tion, perhaps  for  this  reason,  uniformly  ascribed  the 
Epistle  to  him.  The  contents  disclose  little  concerning 
the  authorship,  and  this  little  may  be  used  both  for  and 
against  James  the  Just.  'Some  scholars  maintain  he 
could  not  have  written  such  good  Greek,  and  did  not 
have  the  attitude  revealed  in  the  epistle  towards  the 
Law,  and  would  not  have  failed  to  point  to  the  example 


162  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

of  Jesus  when  urging  prayer,  patience  and  the  like ;  so 
they  conclude  that  the  writer  was  an  unkno^vn  James; 
and  they  find  reasons  for  believing  that  the  book  was 
not  written  until  the  end  of  the  first  century  or  later. 
Other  equally  able  scholars  pronounce  these  arguments 
unconvincing,  and  hold  that  the  undeveloped  theology, 
the  constant  echo  of  the  ethical  teachings  of  Jesus,  the 
strongly  Jewish  tone  and  topics,  and  the  attitude  of 
authority  in  the  admonitions,  all  point  to  James  the 
Just.  Accordingly  they  ascribe  the  epistle  to  him,  and 
pronounce  it  one  of  the  earliest  books  in  the  New  Tes- 
tament. Fortunately  the  value  of  the  epistle  as  a 
guide  in  Christian  living  is  not  involved  in  this  dis- 
pute. Doubt  about  human  authorship  does  not  unsettle 
certainty  of  divine  authorship,  since  that  is  recognized 
by  the  accents  of  the  Holy  Ghost  in  the  message.  With- 
out entering  into  a  long  discussion,  or  professing  to 
make  more  than  a  somewhat  arbitrary  decision,  let  us 
accept  James  the  Just  as  the  author,  and  fix  the  date  of 
the  epistle  at  47  or  48  a.d. 

James  is  writing  to  "  the  twelve  tribes  which  are  of 
the  Dispersion,"  i.e.,  his  Christian  brethren  who  live 
outside  of  the  Holy  Land.  The  Antioch  visit  of  "  cer- 
tain from  James  "  shows  that  he  was  mindful  of  them. 
He  thinks  of  them  as  all  sons  of  Abraham  (2:21)  be- 
cause only  a  few  Gentiles  as  yet  have  become  believers ; 
and  he  seems  well  acquainted  with  their  condition,  so 
they  cannot  be  living  far  away,  say  in  Syria  and  Phoe- 
nicia. They  are  poor  (2:5),  oppressed  by  the  rich 
(2:6  f.),  undergoing  many  trials  (1:2)  and  sur- 
rounded by  temptations  (1:12).  They  have  the  Jew- 
ish ambition  to  become  rabbis  (3:1),  and  show  ob- 
sequiousness to  the  wealthy  even  in  their  places  of  wor- 
ship (2:1  f.).     With  the  spirit  of  the  Pharisee  they 


THE  BATTLE  FOR  CHRISTIAN  EQUALITY     163 

empliasize  creed  more  than  deed  (2:  14  f.)  and  ritual 
more  than  life  (1:  26  f.).  Their  evident  need  both  of 
encouragement  and  of  rebuke  and  warning  prompts 
James  to  ^vi'ite  to  them.  His  letter  is  a  series  of  prac- 
tical messages,  much  resembling  those  of  the  Jewish 
sages,  yet  so  strongly  filled  with  echoes  of  the  Sermon 
on  the  Mount  as  to  make  absurd  the  supposition  of  some 
critics  that  it  is  an  earlier  Jewish  essay  changed  into  a 
Christian  epistle  by  prefixing  the  address  and  insert- 
ing the  name  of  Christ  once  ( 1 : 1 ;  2  : 1 ) .  Its  strongly 
Jewish  tone  is  natural,  if  the  writer  had  absorbed  the 
wisdom  literature  of  the  Old  Testament,  and  was  writ- 
ing to  Jewish  Christians.  There  is  no  logical  order  in 
the  contents  of  the  book: — one  thought  suggests  an- 
other, and  a  word  in  one  passage  is  often  taken  as  the 
keynote  of  the  following  passage,  much  after  the  man- 
ner of  an  untrained  speaker  when  extemporizing.  But 
James  knows  exactly  what  his  readers  need,  and  there 
is  no  uncertainty  in  his  messages.  They  deal  with  the 
trials  of  life  and  the  temptations  arising  from  them 
(1:2-18),  the  importance  of  doing  God's  word 
(1 :  19-27),  the  sin  of  respect  of  persons  (2  : 1-13),  the 
worthlessness  of  orthodox  creed  when  divorced  from 
Christian  deed  (2:  14-26),  the  dangers  that  lie  before 
one  who  is  ambitious  to  set  himself  up  as  a  teacher 
(3:1-18).  There  are  warnings  against  the  sins  that 
arise  from  a  double-minded  attempt  to  please  both  God 
and  the  world  (4:1-17),  woes  upon  the  extortionate 
rich  (5:1-6),  and  exhortations  to  patience  and  prayer 
(5 :  7-20).  It  is  a  sober,  drab-coloured  life  which  James 
sets  forth, — a  life  of  patient,  single-minded  devotion  to 
duty  with  no  ecstatic  vision  or  thrill  of  overpowering 
emotion.  Christ's  coming  is  looked  forward  to,  but 
rather  as  the  labourer  looks  for  the  end  of  a  hard  day 


164  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

than  as  the  bride  looks  for  the  bridegroom.  Here  is  a 
different  type  of  mind  from  that  of  Paul  or  John,  and 
a  different  revelation  of  the  nngearchable  riches  of 
Christ.  Fortunate  for  the  prosaic  man  that  James 
wrote ! 

The  theology  in  the  epistle  of  James  is  small  in 
amount,  and  of  the  same  simple,  undeveloped  charac- 
ter as  that  of  the  early  speeches  in  Acts.  The  con- 
tradiction of  Paul  as  to  the  relative  value  of  faith  and 
works  is  more  apparent  than  real,  and  arises — as  such 
contradictions  often  do — ^from  attaching  different 
meanings  to  the  same  word.  By  faith  as  contrasted 
with  works  (2 :  14  f.),  James  means  the  intellectual  ac- 
ceptance of  Christian  doctrines,  a  matter  purely  of  the 
head;  while  faith,  as  Paul  uses  the  word,  is  the  com- 
plete surrender  of  the  heart  to  Christ,  resulting  in  a 
vital  union  with  Him.  The  works  James  declares  to 
be  indispensable  are  the  fruits  of  the  new  life, — the  out- 
ward manifestation  of  the  indwelling  spirit  of  Jesus; 
the  works  Paul  pronounces  useless  are  those  by  which 
men  think  to  merit  salvation,  especially  the  works  of 
the  Jewish  Law.  Evidently  the  two  writers  are  in 
agreement,  though  their  words  seem  contradictory. 
Nevertheless,  James'  well-known  adherence  to  the  Law 
might  seem  to  uphold  the  party  of  the  circumcision  in 
turning  his  epistle  into  a  weapon  against  Paul  and  the 
Gentile  Christians. 

3.    The  Trouble  in  Galatia, 

The  party  in  the  church  who  sought  to  bring  all 
Gentile  Christians  under  the  yoke  of  the  Law  had  thus 
far  been  unsuccessful  but  remained  undiscouraged.  A 
convenient  title  for  them  is  the  Judaizers,  a  term 
coined  from  Paul's  question  to   Cephas,   "  How  com- 


THE  BATTLE  FOR  CHRISTIAN  EQUALITY     165 

pellest  thou  the  Gentiles  to  Judaize?-" — i.e.,  to  live  as 
do  the  Jews  (Gal.  2:14).  Because  Paul  denounced 
them  so  strongly,  we  must  not  conclude  that  all  Juda- 
izers  acted  from  evil  motives.  Undoubtedly  some 
wished  the  Gentiles  to  live  as  the  Jews  in  order  that 
they  themselves  might  not  be  persecuted  for  the  cross 
of  Christ  by  the  Jews  (Gal.  6:  12),  or  that  they  might 
destroy  the  influence  of  Paul,  whom  they  hated,  and 
take  his  place  with  the  Gentile  converts  (4:17);  or 
that  they  might  gain  glory  as  successful  proselytisers 
(6:13).  But  there  were  others  whose  own  religious 
life  was  so  closely  connected  with  keeping  the  Law  that 
they  could  not  deem  any  other  manner  of  life  equally 
consecrated,  and  who  verily  thought  they  did  God  ser- 
vice, and  Gentile  Christians  the  greatest  kindness,  by 
insisting  that  the  Law  must  be  kept  by  all  believers. 
Even  the  Judaizer  of  to-day, — the  man  who  stirs  up 
trouble  by  insisting  that  all  Christians  shall  adopt  his 
own  precious  forms  and  observances, — may  really  be 
filled  with  a  zeal  for  God  and  a  sincere  love  for  hig 
fellow-man.  Hence  the  duty  of  forbearance  toward 
him. 

After  the  case  of  Titus  and  the  council  at  Jeru- 
salem, the  Judaizers  could  no  longer  disturb  Gentile 
Christians  by  insisting,  ^'  To  be  saved  or  to  have  fel- 
lowship with  us  you  must  keep  the  Law ;  "  but  it  was 
still  possible  to  declare,  "  In  order  to  become  better 
Christians,  you  should  keep  the  Law."  That  which 
might  not  be  imposed  as  a  necessity  or  a  condition, 
could  be  offered  as  a  counsel  of  perfection,  appealing 
to  the  very  noblest  natures.  It  did  not  take  long  for 
the  Judaizers  to  perceive  this  and  to  act  accordingly. 
Their  tactics  were  those  of  certain  sects  on  modern 
mission  fields : — instead  of  starting  their  own  missions 


166  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

in  the  wide  and  needy  Roman  world,  they  systematic- 
ally sought  out  the  churches  already  planted  by  Paul, 
and  sought  to  win  over  his  converts.  He  must  have 
feared  this,  having  perhaps  caught  some  hint  of  it  at 
the  council ;  for  when  he  visited  the  Galatian  churches 
on  his  second  missionary  journey  and  delivered  the 
decrees,  he  strongly  warned  them  against  anyone  who 
should  preach  a  gospel  different  from  that  which  he 
had  given  them  (Gal.  1:6-9).  His  fear  soon  proved 
to  be  well-founded.  Sometime  while  he  was  labouring 
in  Macedonia  or  Corinth,  the  Judaizers  came  to  Gala- 
tia.  Who  they  were  we  do  not  know,  since  Paul 
wisely  refrains  from  naming  them.  All  hope  of  a 
happy  termination  ends  when  a  battle  over  doctrine  is 
allowed  to  become  an  attack  upon  persons.  But  though 
Paul  did  not  assail  them  by  name,  his  letter  shows 
that  he  was  assailed  by  them  shamefully.  They  de- 
clared he  had  received  his  apostleship  from  Ananias 
at  Damascus  or  from  the  church  at  Antioch,  and  not 
directly  from  Christ,  and  therefore  was  inferior  to  the 
Twelve,  as  he  himself  had  shown  by  accepting  their 
decrees.  Also,  he  had  not  known  Jesus;  so  his  gospel 
was  gained  at  second-hand,  and  whatever  in  it  did  not 
harmonize  with  the  teachings  of  the  apostles  must  be 
erroneous.  Indeed,  he  had  not  fully  and  fairly  given 
the  Galatians  his  gospel;  for  while  evidently  he  be- 
lieved in  circumcision, — witness  the  case  of  Timothy, — 
he  had  sought  to  please  them  by  declaring  it  was  not 
necessary.  In  short,  he  was  an  incompetent  and  de- 
ceitful evangelist.  As  for  the  gospel  he  brought,  they 
said  it  was  only  the  beggarly  rudiments  of  the  Chris- 
tian religion.  Faith  in  Christ  is  merely  an  infant  step 
towards  salvation;  to  reach  the  full  blessings  of  the 
Messianic  kingdom  promised  to  the  seed  of  David,  one 


THE  BATTLE  FOR  CHRISTIAN  EQUALITY     167 

must  be  circumcised  and  keep  the  Law.  The  liberty 
of  which  Paul  taught  them  to  boast,  was  really  his 
base  concession  to  fleshly  appetites,  and  led  to  all  kinds 
of  licentiousness.  While  not  asserting  that  the  Law 
was  absolutely  necessary,  the  Judaizers  made  it  so  im- 
portant as  to  be  practically  indispensable. 

There  was  great  likelihood  that  these  enemies  of 
Paul  would  succeed  in  supplanting  him.  The  Gentile 
Christians  were  inclined  towards  Judaistic  Christian- 
ity because  their  old  heathen  religions  were  strongly 
ritualistic;  therefore,  with  little  difficulty  they  could 
be  persuaded  to  observe  the  various  Jewish  sacred  days 
and  ceremonies  (Gal.  4: 10).  Also,  they  were  familiar 
with  the  idea  of  an  outer  and  an  inner  circle  of  mem- 
bership in  religious  societies,  including  esoteric  teach- 
ings for  the  duly  initiated.  The  Judaizers  would 
represent  their  teachings  as  those  of  such  an  inner 
circle  in  the  Christian  church,  admission  to  which  was 
gained  by  circumcision.  This  would  appeal  to  the 
Galatians ;  and  in  their  desire  for  the  higher  life  some 
seem  already  to  have  submitted  to  circumcision 
(6:12),  while  others  were  wavering.  The  leaven 
brought  by  these  new  teachers  was  beginning  to  per- 
meate the  church  (5:9-10).  Other  dangers,  also, 
lurked  in  the  present  situation.  The  converts  who  re- 
mained faithful  to  Paul's  teachings  were  tempted  to 
make  special  display  of  their  freedom  by  indulging  in 
those  very  excesses  that  the  Judaizers  declared  were 
the  natural  fruit  of  his  gospel  (5:  13  f.)  ;  the  normal 
activities  of  the  church  were  hindered  by  the  forma- 
tion of  hostile  camps;  and  the  followers  of  the  new 
doctrine  were  withholding  their  gifts  from  the  teachers 
of  the  old  (6:6).  Evidently  there  was  need  of 
prompt  and  vigourous  action,  if  all  that  Paul  had  thus 


168  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

far  wrought  for  Gentile  Christianity  was  not  to  be 
destroyed. 

4.    The  Letter  to  the  Galatians. 

When  aijd  where  did  Paul  write  his  letter  to  the 
Galatians?  He  had  visited  the  Galatian  churches 
twice  before  he  wrote  (Gal.  4:13),  but  were  they 
some  unknown  churches  in  E^orth  Galatia  or  Antioch, 
Iconium  and  the  others  in  South  Galatia?  If,  as  is 
increasingly  believed,  they  were  the  latter,  his  second 
visit  was  when  he  delivered  the  decrees  (Acts  16 : 4)  ; 
and  the  letter  was  written  either  later  on  in  the  second 
missionary  journey  or  afterward.  Apparently  the 
Judaizers  had  not  been  long  at  work  (Gal.  1:6);  but 
how  soon  after  the  council  at  Jerusalem  is  it  likely 
they  would  begin?  Does  the  close  resemblance  of 
Galatians  to  Eomans  prove  that  the  two  were  written 
about  the  same  time,  the  date  being,  therefore,  as  late 
as  shortly  before  Paul's  last  visit  to  Jerusalem  (Kom. 
15:25  f.)  ?  These  and  similar  questions  bearing  on 
the  time  and  place  of  the  epistle,  might  be  discussed 
interminably.  Kather,  let  us  accept  Professor  Ram- 
say's solution  of  the  problem  as  simple  and  fairly  satis- 
factory. He  supposes  that  when  Paul  sailed  for  Syria 
(Acts  18:18),  Timothy  accompanied  him  as  far  as 
Ephesus,  and  then  took  the  overland  route  to  his  home 
at  Lystra.  As  he  passed  through  South  Galatia  he 
learned  what  the  Judaizers  were  doing;  and  he 
brought  the  alarming  tidings  to  Paul  when  he  joined 
him  at  Antioch  in  Syria.  We  might  expect  that  the 
apostle  would  hasten  forthwith  to  Galatia:  but  he  had 
barely  begun  his  visit  in  Antioch;  the  winter  had  set 
in,  making  travel  through  the  mountain  passes  of 
Tarsus   difficult;    his   health   may  have   hindered   the 


THE  BATTLE  FOR  CHRISTIAN  EQUALITY    169 

journey;  and  his  experience  with  the  Thessalonians 
had  shown  that  a  letter  might  accomplish  the  purpose 
of  a  visit.  Accordingly,  he  now  wrote  and  sent  from 
Antioch  his  famous  Epistle  to  the  Galatians.  Though 
he  includes  in  the  salutation  "  all  the  brethren  that  are 
with  me,"  the  letter  is  entirely  his  own,  beginning 
with  "  I  marvel "  and  ending  with  "  Henceforth  let 
no  man  trouble  me.''  It  was  dictated  at  white  heat, 
and  still  glows  with  the  apostle's  indignation  and  ap- 
prehension, and  throughout  it  all  is  his  "  overwhelm- 
ing, burning  conviction  of  immediate  divine  vocation." 
Romans  is  a  calm  statement  of  doctrine;  while  Gala- 
tians is  a  surging  outburst  of  emotion,  with  denuncia- 
tion, expostulation,  appeal,  warning,  entreaty,  com- 
mand, poured  forth  tumultuously.  There  is  no  other 
letter  in  which  the  great  apostle  so  unbares  his  heart. 

Omitting  the  usual  introductory  thanksgiving  and 
prayer,  Paul  rushes  at  once  into  a  defence  of  himself 
and  his  gospel.  Indeed,  the  very  salutation  (1:1-5) 
is  so  worded  as  to  be  the  beginning  of  this  defence. 
The  first  section  of  the  letter  (1:  6-2:  21)  is  a  refuta- 
tion of  the  charge  that  his  knowledge  and  authority 
as  a  teacher  were  gained  at  second-hand,  thus  making 
him  inferior  to  the  Twelve.  After  a  sharp  rebuke  of 
the  Galatians  and  a  denunciation  of  their  new  teach- 
ers (1:  6-10),  he  declares  that  the  gospel  preached  by 
him  was  not  received  from  man  but  came  directly  from 
God  through  revelation  of  Jesus  Christ  (11-12)  ;  and 
in  proof  of  this  he  gives  a  brief  but  most  valuable 
sketch  of  his  life,  especially  of  his  relations  with  the 
heads  of  the  church  at  Jerusalem.  His  zeal  as  a 
Jewish  persecutor,  his  conversion,  the  sojourn  in 
Damascus  and  Arabia,  the  first  visit  in  Jerusalem  with 
Peter,  the  years  of  obscurity  in  Syria  and  Cilicia,  the 


170  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

second  visit  in  Jerusalem  when  the  battle  was  foiiglit 
over  Titus,  the  later  controversy  with  Peter  at  An- 
tioch  (1:13-2:21), — all  this  is  outlined  to  show  that 
he  could  not  have  been  a  neophyte  of  the  apostles,  but 
on  the  contrary  had  compelled  them  to  recognize  him 
as  their  equal.  In  this  review  he  says  nothing  about 
the  council  visit  in  Jerusalem  because  the  Galatians 
had  already  heard  about  that  from  his  own  lips  when 
he  delivered  the  decrees  to  them. 

His  words  of  rebuke  to  Peter  at  Antioch  form  the 
transition  to  the  next  section  of  the  letter  (3:1-5:1), 
in  which  he  defends  his  gospel,  especially  his  teaching 
of  justification  by  faith  instead  of  by  the  works  of  the 
Law,  against  the  charge  that  it  is  imperfect  and  in- 
ferior. We  may  call  this  the  doctrinal  section,  if  we 
bear  in  mind  that  Paul's  primary  purpose  in  writing 
it  was  not  theological  instruction  but  the  strengthen- 
ing of  his  converts  against  the  guileful  teachings  of  the 
Judaizers.  In  interpreting  it  we  must  read  between 
the  lines  much  that  had  been  given  the  Galatians  dur- 
ing his  former  visits.  He  begins  by  an  appeal  to  their 
own  personal  experience  of  the  value  of  faith  in  the 
days  before  the  Judaizers  appeared  (3:1-5).  IN^ext, 
because  the  Judaizers  had  promised  that  if  the  Gala- 
tians took  on  the  Law,  they  would  inherit  the  blessings 
of  Abraham,  he  affirms  that  the  true  sons  of  Abraham 
are  they  who,  like  Abraham,  are  of  the  faith  (6-9)  ; 
and  that  the  Law  instead  of  bringing  a  blessing  brings 
a  curse  through  human  inability  to  keep  it  (10-14). 
That  the  blessing  does  not  depend  upon  keeping  the 
Law  is  further  proved  by  the  fact  that  it  was  granted 
by  an  irrevocable  promise  to  the  true  seed  of  Abra- 
ham long  before  the  Law  was  given  (15-18).  The 
Law  was   added  later  on   to  reveal  sin   through  the 


THE  BATTLE  FOR  CHRISTIAN  EQUALITY     171 

transgressions  of  it,  and  thus  to  prepare  the  way  for 
faith  in  Jesus  Christ  as  the  only  Saviour  from  sin 
(19-22).  Those  who  are  under  the  Law,  instead  of 
enjoying  a  high  position,  are  like  children  under  the 
constant  oversight  of  a  servant  (23-29),  or  infant 
heirs  under  the  control  of  a  guardian  (4:  1-7).  ^Vhy 
then  turn  back  from  the  free,  intelligent  service  of 
God  to  the  bondage  of  a  childish  and  heathenish  ob- 
servance of  Jewish  sacred  times  (8-11)  ?  Here  Paul 
interjects  a  touching  personal  appeal,  pointing  out  how 
the  Galatians  formerly  considered  him  their  best 
friend,  and  lamenting  that  now  they  are  being  turned 
against  him  (12-20).  And  he  ends  in  true  rabbinical 
fashion  by  using  the  story  of  Sarah  and  Hagar  as  an 
allegory  to  prove  that  liberty  is  the  birthright  of  the 
Gentile  Christians,  and  that  the  Judaizers  are  repeat- 
ing ancient  history  when  persecuting  them  (4:21- 
5:1). 

The  closing  section  (5:  2-6:  18)  is  devoted  to  prac- 
tical exhortations.  First,  he  urges  those  who  are 
thinking  of  circumcision,  to  consider  that  by  this  act 
they  fall  away  from  grace  and  undertake  the  whole 
obligation  of  the  Law.  Circumcision  is  of  as  little 
value  in  the  Christian  life  as  uncircumcision ;  only 
faith  working  through  love  avails.  As  for  those  slan- 
derous enemies  who  urge  circumcision,  would  that  they 
were  revealing  their  true  nature  by  adopting  self- 
mutilation  like  priests  of  Cybele  (5:  2-12)  !  Next,  he 
appeals  to  those  who  have  the  Christian  freedom,  not 
to  make  it  an  excuse  for  yielding  to  the  lust  of  the 
flesh,  but  instead  to  show  in  their  lives  the  fruit  of 
the  Spirit  (5:  13-26).  A  gToup  of  various  injunctions 
follows,  bearing  mainly  upon  duties  toward  fellow- 
Christians   (6:1-10).     Finally,  in  his  own  handwrit- 


172  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

ing,  made  emphatic  bj  its  size,  Paul  warns  once  more 
against  the  Judaizers,  and  points  to  the  scars  of  his 
own  sufferings  for  Christ  as  the  visible  seal  of  his 
apostleship  (11-18). 

The  epistle  to  the  Galatians  places  us  in  the  very- 
heart  of  Paul's  great  battle  to  save  his  converts  from 
the  fetters  of  legalism.  Throughout  the  long  struggle 
he  was  confronted  with  the  Jewish  Law;  but  that  in- 
cluded the  law  of  conscience  resting  upon  the  Gentiles 
(Rom.  2:14-15),  which,  therefore,  was  included  in 
his  contention  that  ^'  a  man  is  justified  not  by  the  works 
of  the  Law,  but  through  faith  in  the  Lord  Jesus " 
(Gal.  2:16).  For  the  followers  of  Christ  there  is 
no  law,  save  the  law  of  love  (5:14);  they  are  not 
driven  by  commands,  they  are  led  by  the  Spirit 
(5:18).  How  faith  justifies  is  stated  more  fully  in 
Romans ;  but  what  Paul  means  by  faith  is  most  clearly 
revealed  here.  Faith  is  not  merely  the  acceptance  of 
Christ's  promises  and  teachings;  it  is  the  acceptance 
of  Christ  Himself, — the  reception  of  Him  in  the  heart, 
merging  the  recipient  so  completely  in  Him  that  he 
can  truly  say,  '^  It  is  no  longer  I  that  live,  but  Christ 
liveth  in  me"  (2:20).  The  experience  may  be  pic- 
tured as  a  birth  (3:  27),  a  resurrection  (2:  20),  a  new 
act  of  creation  (6:15).  It  results  in  such  vital  union 
that  the  life  of  the  believer  is  henceforth  a  revelation 
of  Christ  (1:16);  and  because  the  Spirit  of  God's 
Son  is  in  his  heart,  he  can  with  confidence  cry  to  God 
"Abba,  Father"  (4:6).  All  this  is  intensely  mys- 
tical; but  Paul  was  a  mystic  as  well  as  a  man  of  com- 
mon sense;  indeed,  it  was  the  harmonious  blending 
of  mysticism  and  practical  wisdom  that  made  him  re- 
markable. Faith  was  for  him  both  an  ineffable  ex* 
perience  at  the  hour  of  his  conversion,  and  the  daily 


THE  BATTLE  FOR  CHRISTIAN  EQUALITY    173 

uplift  of  his  life  in  the  drudgery  and  tasks  whidi 
everywhere  confronted  him.  '^  That  which  I  now  live 
in  the  flesh,  I  live  in  faith,  which  is  in  the  Son  of  God 
who  loved  me  and  gave  Himself  up  for  me ''  (2 :  20). 
Any  g-eneral  survey  of  Paul's  theology  would  take 
us  outside  the  scope  of  the  present  volume;  but  we 
cannot  pass  without  comment  his  description  of  the 
warfare  between  the  flesh  and  the  Spirit  (5:16-24), 
because  he  has  been  charged  by  some  with  holding,  as 
did  many  in  the  heathen  world  of  his  day  and  later, 
that  man's  body  is  vile,  a  source  of  pollution,  and  that 
salvation  involves  deliverance  from  it,  partially  by 
asceticism,  fully  by  death.  Such  a  charge  would  seem 
to  be  refuted  by  his  clear  statements  that  the  body  is 
for  the  Lord  (I  Cor.  6:13),  a  temple  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  in  which  to  glorify  God  (Id.  19-20),  and  is  to 
be  presented  to  God  a  living  sacrifice,  holy,  acceptable 
to  God  (Rom.  12:  1).  But  Paul's  life  of  celibacy,  his 
frequent  and  strong  denunciation  of  sins  of  unchastity, 
and  his  emphatic  statement  "  I  buffet  my  body  and 
bring  it  into  bondage"  (I  Cor.  9:  27),  are  often  cited 
to  prove  that  he  was  an  ascetic;  and  specially  his  as- 
signment of  all  sin  to  the  flesh  is  held  to  place  him 
among  those  who  think  that  the  body  is  the  source  of 
evil.  Now,  it  is  true  that  Paul  sometimes  means  by 
the  flesh  the  human  body  (2:  20;  4:  14)  but  he  also 
gives  the  term  a  variety  of  other  meanings,  e.g.,  human 
beings  in  bodies  (1:16;  2:16)  and  the  whole  visible, 
material  side  of  human  life  (6:  12)  and  all  the  natural 
powers  and  activities  of  man  (Phil.  3:4).  And  when 
he  is  contrasting  the  flesh  with  the  Spirit  (Gal. 
(6:16-24;  Rom.  8:4  f.),  he  gives  the  word  a  still 
broader  meaning.  As  he  looks  forth  upon  human  life 
he  sees  there  two  great  and  warring  realms.     One  is 


174  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

that  of  "  the  flesh ''  or  "  the  natural  man  "  (I  Cor. 
2:14)  or  '^  the  old  man"  (Rom.  6:6;  Col.  3:9). 
The  dwellers  in  it  are  at  enmity  with  God,  and  under 
the  condemnation  of  His  law  which — whether  whis- 
pered by  conscience  or  thundered  at  Mount  Sinai — 
they  are  unwilling  and  unable  to  obey.  It  is  called 
the  realm  of  the  flesh  because,  perhaps,  the  most  evi- 
dent sins  are  sensual,  yet  those  most  numerous  and 
most  deadly  are  spiritual, — envyings,  strife,  wraths, 
idolatry  and  the  like.  The  other  realm  is  that  of  "  the 
Spirit"  or  "the  kingdom  of  the  Son"  (Col.  1:13) 
or  "  the  new  man  "  (Col.  3: 10), — the  man  created  in 
Christ  Jesus  (Eph.  2:10).  In  that  realm  there  is 
peace  with  God ;  and  the  only  law  is  love,  '^  the  law 
of  the  Spirit  of  life  in  Christ  Jesus"  (Eom.  8:2). 
It  is  called  the  realm  of  the  Spirit  because  the  Holy 
Spirit  or  the  Spirit  of  God  or  the  Spirit  of  Christ, — 
these  being  identical, — controls  all  its  activities  and 
produces  all  its  fruits.  One  enters  that  realm  when 
by  faith  he  receives  the  Spirit  and  yields  to  His  sway. 
With  deep  humility  and  constant  gratitude  Paul  reck- 
oned himself  a  member  of  that  realm.  And  yet  he 
recognized  that  the  fight  against  the  lusts  of  the  flesh 
and  the  powers  of  evil  must  be  unceasing.  For  this 
reason  he  kept  his  body  in  bondage  and  strove  to  bring 
every  thought  into  captivity  to  the  obedience  of  Christ, 
counting  himself  not  to  have  already  obtained  or  al- 
ready to  be  made  perfect,  but  pressing  onward  unto 
the  mark  of  the  high  calling  of  God  in  Christ  Jesus. 
And  his  exhortation  to  all  his  brethren  is  to  do  the 
same. 


X 

PAUL'S  YEAKS  AT  EPHESUS 

PAUL  ^^  spent  some  time "  at  Antioch  (Acts 
18:23),  probably  until  the  spring  of  52  a.d. 
JSTavigation  ceased  in  the  winter,  and  snow 
made  the  mountain  pass  across  the  Tarsus  extremely 
difficult.  He  could  not  easily  get  back  to  Ephesus, 
even  if  he  wished  to.  Apparently  he  planned  to  return 
by  sea,  the  easiest  and  speediest  route ;  for  in  his  letter 
to  the  Galatians  he  makes  no  mention  of  intending  to 
visit  them, — indeed,  indicates  that  a  visit  is  impracti- 
cable (4:20).  Some  change  in  the  situation,  or  fur- 
ther news  from  Galatia,  made  him  take  the  land-route 
so  that  he  could  meet  his  wavering  converts.  The  de- 
parture from  Antioch  is  usually  called  the  beginning 
of  the  third  missionary  journey;  but  it  was  with  no 
sense  of  a  new  undertaking,  and  with  no  formal  dis- 
missal and  Godspeed  by  the  Christians  of  Antioch, 
that  he  left  the  city  for  the  last  time.  He  was  simply 
returning  to  Ephesus  to  take  up  the  work  waiting  him 
there.  Of  his  experiences  as  he  passed  through  Gala- 
tia we  are  told  nothing,  save  that  he  visited  the 
churches  in  order  and  made  firm  the  disciples  (Acts 
18:23).  Apparently  his  letter  had  wrought  more 
effectively  than  at  first  he  supposed,  and  his  presence 
completed  the  defeat  of  the  Judaizers.  Out  of  this 
experience  may  have  arisen  his  later  practice,  which 
we  shall  soon  have  occasion  to  note,  of  preparing  the 
way  for  a  personal  visit  in  settlement  of  difficulties  by 

175 


176  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

sending  ahead  a  letter  and  waiting  its  effect.  If  the 
Galatians  had  reached  the  point  of  emphatically  re- 
jecting the  Judaizers,  thej  would  be  disposed  to  go 
still  further  and  break  off  all  connection  with  the 
Jewish-Christian  church.  This  tendency  must  be 
checked,  and  would  best  be  met  by  some  counter- 
measure;  so  it  may  have  been  at  this  time  that  Paul 
first  urged  upon  them  the  duty  and  privilege  of  send- 
ing a  gift  to  "  the  poor  among  the  saints  that  are  at 
Jerusalem"  (I  Cor.  16:1;  Kom.  15:26). 

1.     Ephesus  and  the  Temple  of  Artemis. 

Asia  was  one  of  the  richest  and  most  important  of 
the  Eoman  provinces;  and  Ephesus,  its  capital,  was 
the  largest,  wealthiest  and  most  influential  of  all  the 
cities  in  which  Paul  undertook  to  plant  a  Christian 
church.  It  was  a  seaport  at  the  mouth  of  the  river 
Cayuster,  and  an  outlet  for  all  the  rich  commerce  from 
the  East.  The  flourishing  cities  of  Asia, — 'Smyrna, 
Pergamum,  Thyatira,  Sardis,  Philadelphia,  Laodicea, 
Colosse,  Miletus  and  others  less  familiar  to  us  because 
not  mentioned  in  the  'New  Testament, — all  looked  to 
Ephesus  as  their  metropolis.  For  this  reason  the 
Roman  proconsul  chose  it  as  his  residence.  And  the 
importance  of  the  province  made  the  proconsulship  one 
of  the  most  responsible  and  highly  prized  positions  in 
the  Koman  government,  open  only  to  those  who  had 
previously  been  consuls  at  Rome.  But  Ephesus  itself 
was  a  free  city  with  a  democratic  government.  The 
popular  assembly  which  governed  it  met  regularly 
three  times  each  month  (Acts  19:  39)  ;  and  the  secre- 
tary (19:  35),  who  acted  as  chairman,  was  a  very  in- 
fluential person.  Another  notable  person  residing  in 
Ephesus  was  the  Asiarch,  an  officer  selected  probably 


PAUL'S  YEARS  AT  EPHESUS  177 

annually  to  preside  over  the  emperor  worship  through- 
out the  province.  In  Ephesus  and  other  important 
cities  of  Asia  special  temples  were  erected  for  this  wor- 
ship, which  was  emphasized  as  a  proof  of  loyalty  and 
a  bond  of  unity;  and  the  Asiarch  as  a  high-priest 
looked  after  them  and  bore  the  expense  of  the  games 
and  festivities  connected  with  them.  In  a  certain 
sense  he  was,  as  the  name  indicates,  the  ruler  of  the 
province,  and  his  office,  which  could  be  filled  only  by 
a  man  of  great  wealth,  was  one  of  highest  honour  and 
most  impressive  outward  splendour.  Probably  when 
he  retired  from  office  he  still  retained  his  title, — as 
did  the  Jewish  high-priest;  and  thus  in  Paul's  day 
there  were  several  Asiarchs  in  Ephesus  (19:  31). 

The  glory  of  the  city  was  its  temple  to  Artemis, — 
one  of  the  seven  wonders  of  the  world.  Enormous  in 
size,  beautiful  with  marble  and  ivory  and  Cyprus  and 
cedar,  it  had  been  more  than  two  hundred  years  in 
building;  and  worshippers  throughout  the  province 
had  helped  defray  its  great  cost.  Though  the  goddess 
worshipped  at  its  altar  was  identified  by  the  Greeks 
with  Artemis  and  by  the  Romans  with  Diana,  she  was 
really  a  primitive  nature  deity  whose  worship  was  a 
recognition  of  earth's  powers  of  fecundity.  Her  most 
sacred  image  was  a  block  of  wood  or  ivory,  so  old  that 
it  was  fabled  to  have  fallen  from  heaven,  rudely  carved 
in  part  into  a  head  and  a  bust  covered  with  breasts, 
the  symbol  of  fertility.  Her  world-wide  fame  was  ex- 
pressed in  the  favourite  and  distinctive  title.  Great 
Artemis  of  the  Ephesians.  The  temple  was  an  asylum 
for  fugitives  from  oppression  or  from  justice;  and  the 
Croesuses  of  that  day  deposited  their  treasures  in  it 
for  safe-keeping.  An  army  of  priests  and  their  help- 
ers, both  men  and  women,  belonged  to  it ;  and  the  ma- 


178  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

jority  of  the  Ephesians  gained  their  support  from  it 
in  various  ways,  of  which  making  silver  shrines — 
little  models  of  the  inner  sanctuary  with  its  image  of 
the  goddess — for  sale  to  worshippers  as  votive  offerings 
or  souvenirs  (19  :  24)  was  only  one.  With  good  reason 
Ephesus  gave  the  worship  of  Artemis  popular  and 
official  support,  and  gloried  in  being  the  temple- 
keeper  (literally,  the  temple-sweeper)  of  the  great  god- 
dess (19:  35).  In  no  other  city  where  Paul  laboured 
was  a  heathen  cult  so  well  organized,  active  and 
powerful. 

2.     Apollos  and  His  Disciples. 

The  number  of  incipient  Christian  sects  in  the  first 
century,  and  the  varying  degrees  of  belief  in  Christ, 
are  seldom  realized.  We  think  of  the  stream  of  Chris- 
tian thought  in  those  early  days  as  flowing  with  a 
steady,  onward  movement  of  life-giving  waters;  in 
reality  there  were  eddies  and  cross-currents,  back- 
waters and  stagnant  pools  and  side  streams  which  led 
off  nowhere.  In  regard  to  the  Jewish  Law,  for  ex^ 
ample,  the  different  positions  taken  range  all  the  way 
from  what  seems  almost  pure  Judaism  to  what  threat- 
ens to  become  dangerous  lawlessness.  At  Ephesus  we 
find  another  illustration  of  the  varied  forms  of  Chris- 
tian belief.  There  came  to  that  city,  soon  after  Paul's 
passing  visit,  a  learned  and  eloquent  Jew  named  Apol- 
los. He  was  already  a  believer;  and  he  began  boldly 
to  proclaim  Jesus  in  the  synagogue,  thereby  gaining 
the  little  group  of  disciples  whom  Paul  ran  across 
later  on  (19:  1-7).  Luke  does  not  state  that  these  men 
were  converts  of  Apollos;  but  he  clearly  implies  it  by 
giving  Paul's  dealings  with  them,  as  a  sequel  to  the 
story  of  Apollos,  before  taking  up  in  regular  fashion 


PAUL'S  YEARS  AT  EPHESUS  179 

the  account  of  what  Paul  did  in  Ephesus,  Apollos 
was  an  Alexandrian,  but  it  is  unlikely  that  he  had 
gained  his  knowledge  of  Jesus  in  that  city;  for  Alex- 
andria, because  of  its  situation  and  its  large  Jewish 
population,  was  in  constant  and  close  communication 
with  Jerusalem,  and  any  Christian  residing  in  it  would 
know  pretty  exactly  what  the  church  in  Jerusalem 
held  as  Christian  doctrine;  but  Apollos,  while  ac- 
quainted with  the  baptism  of  John  and  able  to  teach 
accurately  the  things  concerning  Jesus  (18:25),  was 
ignorant  of  Christian  baptism  and  of  the  gift  (or  pos- 
sibly of  the  very  existence)  of  the  Holy  Spirit 
(19:2).  Some  scholars  suppose  him  to  have  been  a 
disciple  of  John  the  Baptist,  but  his  Christian  knowl- 
edge is  too  great  for  that.  Evidently  he  had  learned 
the  full  story  of  Jesus'  life  and  death,  including  the 
mission  of  the  Baptist,  but  had  heard  nothing  about 
Pentecost  and  the  later  life  of  the  church.  This  would 
be  the  case  if  the  person  by  whom  he  had  been  orally 
taught  the  way  of  the  Lord  (18:25)  was  a  disciple 
who  had  never  returned  to  Jerusalem  after  the  fatal 
Passover  week.  There  must  have  been  many  such; 
and  they  could  hand  on  to  others  only  the  incomplete 
Christian  knowledge  they  themselves  had  gained.  The 
religious  ideas  of  Apollos  would  be  similar  to  those  of 
a  man  of  to-day  who  knew  only  the  Gospel  of  Mark, 
or  of  a  man  who  in  obedience  to  the  cry,  "  Back  to 
Jesus,"  rejected  all  the  later  teachings  of  the  church. 
'No  wonder  that  when  Priscilla  and  Aquila  listened  to 
Apollos  they  soon  recognized  that  his  message  was  in- 
complete and  his  spiritual  power  undeveloped;  and, 
taking  him  to  their  home,  they  "  expounded  to  him 
the  way  of  God  more  accurately  "  (18:  26).  Whether 
they  baptized  him,  as  Paul  did  the  men  who  had  re- 


180  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

ceived  only  the  Johannine  baptism  (19:1-7),  we  are 
not  told;  it  would  seem  probable  that  they  did,  and 
that  this  fuller  entrance  into  the  realm  of  Christian 
truth  brought  to  him  the  same  influx  of  the  Holy 
Spirit.  From  Priscilla  and  Aquila  he  learned,  too,  of 
the  existence  of  a  Christian  church  in  Corinth;  and  a 
strong  desire  to  enjoy  its  privileges,  all  new  to  him, 
filled  his  heart.  Encouraged  by  the  brethren  from 
that  church  who  happened  to  be  in  Ephesus,  and  re- 
ceiving letters  of  recommendation  from  them,  he 
crossed  to  Achaia.  And  there  his  courage,  eloquence 
and  profound  knowledge  of  the  Old  Testament  made 
him  not  only  a  powerful  disputant  with  the  Jews,  but 
also,  as  we  shall  see,  the  leader  of  the  Corinthian 
church  as  long  as  he  remained  there.  Later  on  he  was 
again  in  Ephesus  and  with  Paul  (I  Cor.  16:  12). 

3.     The  Conquest  of  Asia. 

When  Paul  had  finished  his  mission  in  Galatia,  he 
hastened  by  the  shortest  route,  that  through  '^  the 
upper  country"  (19:1),  to  Ephesus.  The  Jews  who 
before  had  urged  him  to  remain,  now  welcomed  his 
return;  the  synagogue  was  at  his  service  as  a  preach- 
ing-place; Priscilla  and  Aquila  would  take  him  again 
into  their  home;  and  probably  a  little  handful  of  be- 
lievers had  already  been  won  by  their  labours.  Thus 
the  work  began  most  favourably.  In  no  other  city  did 
the  Jews  give  such  attentive  and  prolonged  hearing  to 
the  gospel ;  and  though  at  the  end  of  three  months  Paul 
withdrew  with  his  followers  from  the  synagogue,  he 
was  not  forced  to  do  this,  but  thought  it  best  because 
his  teaching  was  increasingly  interrupted  by  the  ob- 
jections and  counter-arguments  of  the  disaffected. 
Public  disputations  are  not  a  fruitful  means  of  win- 


PAUL'S  YEARS  AT  EPHESUS  181 

ning  souls.  The  lecture-room  of  Tyrannus  was  secured 
by  the  Christians,  and  here  Paul  set  forth  the  new 
faith  daily  "  from  the  fifth  to  the  tenth  hour"  (Codex 
Bezae),  i.e.,  from  about  eleven  to  four  o'clock, — a 
period  of  the  day  when  Tyrannus  would  have  finished 
with  his  classes,  and  when  the  labour  and  business  of 
the  city  largely  ceased.  That  lecture-room  of  Tyran- 
nus is  the  first  step  of  the  Christian  church  from  a 
room  in  the  house  of  some  member  to  a  special  build- 
ing for  its  use. 

We  can  form  a  pretty  clear  picture  of  the  regular 
daily  life  of  Paul.  From  early  morning  until  nearly 
noon, — the  working  hours  at  Ephesus, — he  is  toiling, 
probably  at  the  loom,  to  earn  bread  for  himself  and 
his  companions  (20:34);  for  the  next  five  hours  he 
is  to  be  found  at  the  lecture-room,  meeting  disciples 
and  enquirers,  holding  religious  services,  planning 
evangelistic  work  with  his  helpers,  and  busy  with  all 
the  multifarious  demands  upon  a  missionary's  time 
and  strength ;  then  he  goes  forth  as  a  visitor  "  from 
house  to  house  "  as  long  as  the  day  lasts,  ''  testifying 
both  to  Jews  and  to  Greeks  repentance  toward  God, 
and  faith  toward  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ"  (20:  20  f.). 
He  found  that  "  a  great  door  and  effectual "  was 
opened  unto  him  (I  Cor.  16:9),  through  which  the 
gospel  could  pass  to  the  whole  province  of  Asia.  For 
men  from  the  lesser  cities  came  constantly  to  the 
metropolis  on  business  or  pleasure  or  the  worship  of 
Artemis;  and  if  in  their  sojourn  they  met  Paul  and 
accepted  his  message,  they  would  carry  it  back  to  their 
homes.  Such  was  the  way  apparently  that  Christianity 
reached  Colosse,  Hierapolis,  Laodicea  and  other  cities 
in  which  churches  sprang  up.  And  doubtless  Paul 
himself  went  forth  on  evangelistic  missions.     His  stay 


182  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

at  Ephesus  lasted  in  round  numbers  three  years 
(20:31) — ^possibly  he  had  learned  at  Corinth  the 
value  of  prolonged  work; — and  he  would  not  remain 
in  the  city  all  that  time.  Then,  too,  he  had  with  him 
for  more  or  less  of  the  time  a  noble  band  of  workers, 
Timothy,  Apollos,  Priscilla,  Titus,  Epaenetus  and 
others  (I  Cor.  16:10,  12,  19;  II  Cor.  8:16;  Ptom. 
16:5)  whom  he  could  send  forth  to  scatter  the  seed  of 
truth.  Working  out  from  Ephesus  with  deliberate 
plans  and  corresponding  success  he  was  evangelizing 
all  Asia  (19:10,  26);  and  when  towards  the  end  of 
his  stay  he  wrote  to  Corinth,  he  could  say  '^  The 
churches  of  Asia  salute  you  ''  (I  Cor.  16: 19). 

"  A  great  door  and  effectual  opened  unto  me,*'  was 
an  excellent  reason  why  Paul  should  remain  so  long 
at  Ephesus ;  and  ''  there  are  many  adversaries  "  was 
an  even  better  one.  On  the  fighting  line  is  the  place 
for  the  soldier  of  Christ.  Through  the  influence  of 
the  temple  of  Artemis  the  whole  city  was  full  of  evil 
forces.  Ephesus  was  noted  for  its  devotion  to  black 
art.  The  streets  swarmed  with  magicians,  enchanters, 
exorcists  and  sorcerers,  who  wrought  "  in  craftiness, 
after  the  wiles  of  error,  the  unfruitful  works  of  dark- 
ness "  (Eph.  4:14;  5:11).  Formulae  of  incantation 
by  which  spirits  were  supposed  to  be  controlled  through 
the  potency  of  the  ''  name  that  is  named "  (Eph. 
1:21),  were  known  as  '^  Ephesian  letters."  Speci- 
mens of  such  charms,  some  even  naming  the  name  of 
Jesus  along  with  other  potent  names,  have  recently 
been  discovered.  We  might  expect  that  Paul  would 
confound  this  horde  of  greedy,  insolent  miracle-mon- 
gers by  a  manifestation  of  the  truly  supernatural, — 
the  sham  is  best  exposed  by  a  presentation  of  the  real ; 
and  Luke  tells  us  that  "  God  wrought  extraordinary 


PAUL'S  YEARS  AT  EPHESUS  183 

miracles  by  the  hands  of  Paul  "  (Acts  (19:  11).  His 
further  statement  that  articles  of  clothing  worn  by 
Paul  were  thought  by  these  superstitious  Ephesians  to 
have  healing  power  (even  as  the  shadow  of  Peter  was 
by  some  in  Jerusalem,  5:15),  is  not  improbable; 
though  we  cannot  believe  that  Paul  did  anything  to 
encourage  such  credulity.  The  somewhat  confused  ac- 
count of  the  experiences  of  certain  strolling  Jewish  ex- 
orcists (19:13-16)  is  perfectly  credible;  but  that  the 
sudden  fury  of  a  demoniac  should  create  consternation 
in  the  whole  city,  and  produce  a  general  forsaking  of 
magic  arts  and  an  exaltation  of  Christ,  is  incredible; 
and  the  Lord  Jesus  Himself  never  suffered  His  name 
to  be  magnified  in  such  a  way  (Luke  4:  41).  So,  too, 
the  burning  of  the  books  of  magic  may  have  been  a 
natural  expression  of  the  renunciation  of  magic  arts; 
but  the  theatrical  bonfire  and  the  childish  reckoning 
of  the  importance  of  the  deed  by  a  prodigious  estimate 
of  the  value  of  the  books,  are  not  after  the  spirit  of 
the  great  apostle.  When  we  notice  that  Luke  has  al- 
most nothing  to  tell  about  Paul's  long  sojourn  in 
Ephesus  except  these  fantastic  stories,  we  are  forced 
to  conclude  that  his  sources  of  information  here  were 
scanty  and  less  trustworthy  than  usual.  Certainly  in 
Paul's  own  humble  and  touching  review  of  his  work 
in  Ephesus  (20:18-35),  there  is  nothing  to  confirm 
Luke's  conclusion  that  it  was  by  such  peculiar  ways 
as  he  relates  that  the  word  of  the  Lord  grew  and  pre- 
vailed (19:20). 

To  Luke's  very  incomplete  account  of  what  Paul 
encountered  at  Ephesus  we  can  add  certain  brief  but 
suggestive  hints  from  the  two  letters  to  the  Corinthians 
and  the  last  chapter  of  Romans.  If  that  last  chapter 
was  written  to  the  church  at  Rome,  it  is  most  perplex- 


184  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

ing.  How  should  Paul  know  so  intimately  and  affec- 
tionately such  a  large  number  of  persons  in  a  city  he 
had  never  visited,  and  how  did  it  happen  that  so  many 
of  them  had  shared  his  work  and  even  his  prison  in 
previous  years?  But  if  we  suppose,  as  many  able 
scholars  do,  that  it  was  written  to  his  former  comrades 
at  Ephesus,  the  puzzle  is  solved.  And  we  can  easily 
imagine  how  a  note  to  the  Ephesians  came  to  be  an- 
nexed to  the  Epistle  to  the  Eomans.  That  epistle  was 
Paul's  most  careful  and  elaborate  statement  of  certain 
truths  which  he  considered  his  special  message  to  the 
Christian  world.  When  he  had  completed  it,  he 
naturally  would  wish  to  have  his  other  churches  read 
it,  just  as  he  did  in  the  instance  of  Colossians  (4:  16). 
Phoebe,  a  worthy  and  efficient  member  of  the  church 
at  Cenchreae,  the  eastern  harbour  of  Corinth,  was 
going  to  Ephesus ;  so  Paul  had  her  take  along  for  that 
church  a  copy  of  his  epistle,  and  also  gave  her  a  little 
note  of  introduction  containing  many  greetings  to  his 
friends.  The  note,  preserved  in  Ephesus,  was  natur- 
ally treated  in  later  days  as  a  supplement  to  the  epis- 
tle, and  has  come  down  to  us  in  that  form. 

Phoebe's  note  introduces  us  to  a  notable  group  of 
Paul's  fellow-workers,  and  reveals  how  tender  and 
strong  the  ties  were  that  bound  him  to  them.  But  it 
also  gives  hints  of  sore  trials  and  great  dangers  in  the 
days  when  they  had  laboured  together.  Andronicus 
and  Junias,  two  Jews  ("my  kinsmen"),  who  had 
been  Christians  earlier  than  Paul  and  had  been  highly 
thought  of  by  the  apostles,  have  been  his  fellow-prison- 
ers; and  Priscilla  and  Aquila  have  risked  their  own 
lives  for  the  life  of  Paul  (Eom.  16 :  4,  7).  This  har- 
monizes with  what  is  revealed  in  his  two  letters  to  the 
Corinthians.     In  one  letter,  written  after  he  had  been 


PAUL'S  YEARS  AT  EPHESUS  185 

at  Ephesus  about  two  years,  he  says  that  he  and  others 
are  running  risks  every  hour  and  facing  death  daily; 
and  he  refers  to  some  special  occasion  when  he  "  fought 
with  wild  beasts  at  Ephesus''  (I  Cor.  15:30-32). 
And  in  another,  written  soon  after  the  close  of  the 
Ephesian  ministry,  he  refers  to  a  time,  apparently  re- 
cent, when  in  overwhelming  distress  he  despaired  even 
of  life  but  was  divinely  delivered  from  a  terrible  death 
(II  Cor.  1:8-10).  What  these  trying  experiences 
were,  and  what  caused  them,  we  never  shall  know,  ex- 
cept that  some  were  "  by  the  plots  of  the  Jews ''  (Acts 
20:  19).  Was  Paul  actually  forced  to  fight  with  wild 
beasts  in  the  arena;  or  is  that  statement  a  metaphor 
for  his  struggle  with  even  more  savage  men? 

4.    The  Close  of  the  Work. 

The  gospel  message  had  been  carried  throughout 
Asia.  In  Ephesus  little  groups  of  believers,  each  form- 
ing a  "  church  in  the  house  ''  (Kom.  16 :  5,  10,  11,  14, 
15),  were  parts  of  a  strong  Ephesian  church  whose  in- 
fluence was  felt  throughout  the  city ;  and  in  other  cities 
of  the  province  there  were  similar  gToups.  With  good 
reason  Paul  felt  that  his  work  in  these  parts  was 
drawing  to  a  close,  and  that  now  he  could  enter  upon 
his  cherished  plan  of  going  to  Eome  and  thence  to 
Spain.  As  a  final  preparation  he  must  first  pay  a 
farewell  visit  to  his  churches  in  Macedonia  and 
Achaia,  and  send  or  take  to  Jerusalem  the  contribu- 
tions which  were  being  gathered  for  the  poor  of  that 
church.  To  ensure  that  these  would  be  ready  when 
he  came  and  to  correct  certain  troubles  in  Corinth,  he 
sent  Timothy  and  Erastus  ahead  into  Macedonia  and 
Achaia,  while  he  gave  the  last  touches  to  his  work  in 
Asia  (Acts  19 :  21-22 ;  I  Cor.  16 : 1-11).    He  proposed 


186  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

to  remain  in  Ephesus  until  Pentecost  of  55  a.d.,  but 
sudden  peril  forced  him  to  leave  sooner. 

When  the  whole  atmosphere  is  full  of  hostility 
against  Christianity,  no  one  can  predict  from  what 
quarter  a  thunderbolt  may  be  launched.  In  this  in- 
stance it  came  from  the  silversmiths.  The  demand  for 
their  shrines  was  falling  off;  and  Demetrius,  one  of 
their  number,  laid  the  matter  before  a  council  of 
craftsmen,  and  vehemently  declared  that  the  rapid 
spread  of  Paul's  teachings  threatened  not  only  their 
profits  but  the  prosperity  of  the  city  and  the  majesty 
of  the  gi-eat  goddess  herself.  His  hearers  were  easily 
aroused:  no  nerve  is  so  sensitive  as  that  which  leads  to 
the  pocketbook.  Representing  their  selfish  interest  as 
civic  pride  and  religious  devotion,  they  quickly  stirred 
up  the  whole  excitable  city;  and,  when  they  failed  to 
find  Paul,  they  dragged  two  of  his  companions.  Gains 
and  Alexander,  followed  by  an  ever-increasing  mob, 
into  the  great  open-air  theater  where  popular  assem- 
blies were  held.  If  they  thought  to  have  a  special  trial 
here,  it  was  made  impossible  by  the  confusion  and  up- 
roar of  the  senseless  mob,  who  had  no  idea  what  the 
trouble  was,  save  that  in  some  way  the  worship  of 
Artemis  was  threatened  by  men  who  opposed  idol- 
worship,  i.e.,  by  the  Jews  as  well  as  the  Christians,  for 
the  people  generally  would  not  distinguish  between  the 
two.  There  was  danger  that  such  excitement  would 
lead  to  bloodshed;  but  when  Paul  proposed  to  calm  it 
by  addressing  the  mob,  his  fellow-Christians  would  not 
allow  him  to  hazard  his  life  by  going  into  the  theater, 
and  certain  friendly  Asiarchs  sent  the  same  advice. 
The  wisdom  of  this  was  evident  when  the  Jews  put 
forward  Alexander  as  a  spokesman  for  themselves. 
The  siffht  of  his  Jewish  features  caused  a  howl  of  rage 


PAUL'S  YEAKS  AT  EPHESUS  187 

in  which  his  voice  was  drowned.  For  two  hours  the 
mob  heralded  its  devotion  by  shouting  in  unison, 
"  Great  Artemis  of  the  Ephesians,"  until  exhaustion 
brought  some  measure  of  quiet.  Then  the  city  secre- 
tary in  a  brief,  sensible  speech  assured  them  that  their 
fears  for  Artemis  were  groundless,  referred  Demetrius 
and  the  craftsmen  to  the  courts  for  redress  if  they  had 
been  wronged,  and  pointed  out  how  sternly  the  Eoman 
government  might  call  the  citizens  to  account  for  this 
riot.  The  people,  thus  brought  to  their  senses,  dis- 
persed and  the  uproar  ceased.  But  Demetrius  had  ac- 
complished his  purpose;  for  Paul  could  do  no  more 
work  in  the  excited  city,  and  it  was  not  prudent  for 
him  to  prolong  his  stay  in  it.  Accordingly  after  bid- 
ding farewell  to  his  friends,  he  left  for  Macedonia, 
going  up  the  coast  by  land  or  by  sea  to  Troas  where 
he  could  find  a  ship  for  Philippi. 


XI 

THE  LETTEiRS  TO  THE  CORINTHIANS 

WHETHER  Paul,  during  the  years  lie  lived 
in  Ephesus,  ever  crossed  the  Aegean  and 
visited  the  church  of  Corinth,  is  a  mooted 
question.  Ships  sailing  to  Corinth  would  he  in  the 
harbour,  the  voyage  required  only  a  few  days,  and 
Paul's  heart  yearned  to  see  his  former  converts.  But, 
as  we  shall  note,  there  were  reasons  why  his  presence 
in  Corinth  might  hinder  rather  than  help  the  church, 
and  be  painful  to  both  him  and  it.  He  certainly 
planned  more  than  once  to  make  the  visit  (II  Cor. 
12 :  14;  13 :  1-2)  ;  but  his  words  about  these  plans  may 
be  read  to  imply  that  he  carried  them  out  or  the  re- 
verse. Even  without  a  visit,  he  would  be  constantly 
informed  about  the  condition  of  the  Corinthian  church 
through  letters  from  it  and  visits  from  such  of  its  mem- 
bers as  came  to  Ephesus  on  business  or  travel.  And 
as  occasion  required  he  sent  letters  to  the  church,  more 
doubtless  than  have  been  preserved.  These  letters  of 
Paul  are  extremely  precious,  not  so  much  for  their  doc- 
trinal teachings, — though  they  touch  on  some  high 
themes, — as  for  their  light  upon  church  life  and  prob- 
lems, and  their  revelation  of  Paul  himself.  In  the 
form  we  now  have  them  they  are  two  in  number;  but 
there  is  reason  to  think  that  we  should  treat  these  two 
as  originally  four. 

1.     The  First  Letter,  now  II  Cor.  6 :  14-7 : 1. 

A  seaport  city,  even  in  a  Christian  land,  often  reeks 

188 


THE  LETTERS  TO  THE  CORINTHIANS     189 

with  sensuality;  prostitution  may  be  forbidden,  yet  it 
abounds.  But  in  the  great  maritime  city  of  Corinth, 
the  worship  of  Venus  made  the  prostitute  a  sacred  per- 
son; and  the  general  belief  that  venery  was  as  natural 
and  blameless  as  eating  or  drinking,  made  sexual  in- 
dulgence a  matter  of  course.  ^'  To  Corinthianize ''  was 
a  synonym  for  to  live  in  debauchery.  Evidently  the 
maintenance  of  Christian  standards  of  personal  purity 
by  a  church  whose  members  had  been  reared  in  such  an 
atmosphere  and  were  exposed  to  such  temptations,  was 
exceedingly  difficult.  Neither  the  pressure  of  public 
opinion  nor  an  inbred  sense  of  shame  strengthened  the 
resolution  to  flee  fornication.  Nor  was  it  easy  for  those 
who  had  received  little  Christian  instruction  to  deter- 
mine what  the  relation  between  the  sexes  ought  to  be. 
Some  went  to  the  extreme  of  asceticism,  pronouncing 
even  lawful  marriage  a  sin,  and  pointing  to  Paul's  ex- 
ample of  celibacy.  Others  justified  self-indulgence  by 
Paul's  doctrine  of  liberty,  or  argued  that  fleshly  acts 
have  no  moral  character  since  the  flesh  perishes  and  re- 
ligion is  a  matter  of  the  spirit  (I  Cor.  6:12-13). 
These  latter  deemed  that  Christianity  was  glorified  by 
their  disregard  of  all  restraints,  even  of  those  observed 
when  formerly  they  were  heathen.  And  one  of  their 
number  outraged  the  sense  of  decency  in  his  heathen 
neighbours  by  entering  into  marital  relations  with  his 
stepmother, — probably  herself  a  heathen,  since  Paul 
passes  no  sentence  upon  her,  and  while  his  father  still 
lived  under  the  same  roof  (Id.  5:1).  Revolting  as  was 
this  incestuous  household,  some  of  the  Corinthian 
church  boasted  of  it  as  a  proof  of  the  liberty  they  had 
gained  in  Christ  Jesus! 

We  can  hardly  suppose  that  this  case  of  incest  had 
arisen,  or,  at  least,  was  known  to  Paul,  when  he  wrote 


190  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

the  letter  to  whicli  lie  refers  in  I  Cor.  5:9;  but  he  did 
know  the  tendency  to  sensual  sins ;  and  in  that  letter — 
so  he  says — ^he  enjoined  them  ^'  to  have  no  company 
with  fornicators."  The  letter  is  lost ;  but  many  scholars 
think  a  portion  of  it  has  been  preserved  for  us  as 
II  Cor.  6 :  14-7 : 1.  That  passage  fits  in  with  such  an 
injunction  and  evidently  it  does  not  belong  in  its 
present  place,  for  it  has  no  connection  with  what  pre- 
cedes or  follows,  and  when  it  is  removed  we  find  that 
7:  2  joins  on  to  6: 11  as  an  unbroken  appeal  for'Iarger 
sympathy  and  love.  How  it  may  have  come  to  be  where 
it  is,  we  will  consider  later.  What  else  the  letter  con- 
tained we  do  not  know;  but  its  effect  wa^  other  than 
what  Paul  hoped.  Though  the  withdrawal  he  com- 
manded was  from  immoral  church  members  only,  he 
was  understood  to  mean  from  all  persons  guilty  of  im- 
purity, which  would  include  practically  all  heathen 
neighbours.  The  ascetic  wing  of  the  church  treated  this 
command  as  an  endorsement  of  their  inclination  to  shut 
themselves  entirely  away  from  the  world ;  while  the  op- 
posite wing  pointed  to  its  impracticability  as  sufficient 
reason  for  rejecting  Paul's  advice  altogether,  and  fol- 
lowing their  own  untrammelled  desires. 

2.    The  Second  Letter,  now  I  Corinthians. 

About  a  year  before  Paul  left  Ephesus  he  sent  Titus 
and  "  the  brother,"  whoever  he  was  (cf.  II  Cor.  8: 18), 
to  Corinth  to  arrange  about  a  collection  for  the  poor 
saints  in  Jerusalem  (II  Cor.  12;  18;  8:6,  10),  Pos- 
sibly Titus  carried  the  lost  letter  of  warning  against 
fornicators,  which  may  have  contained  an  announce- 
ment of  the  first  of  PauPs  three  plans  to  visit  Corinth 
(12:14).  The  suggestion  of  a  gift  to  their  Jewish 
brethren  was  cordially  received,   and  the   Corinthians 


THE  LETTERS  TO  THE  CORINTHIANS     191 

started  in  to  collect  the  money  (9:2);  whereupon  Titus 
returned  and  may  have  been  sent  to  Galatia  on  a  sim- 
ilar mission  (I  Cor.  16:  1).  Next,  there  came  to  Paul 
a  report  brought  by  "  them  of  Chloe  "  that  the  church 
of  Corinth  was  full  of  contentions,  the  Greek  tendency 
towards  partizanship  showing  itself  in  the  marshalling 
of  the  different  factions  under  the  names  of  separate 
leaders  (I  Cor.  1:10  f.).  There  were  the  original 
members  who  still  remained  loyal  to  Paul;  there  were 
others  who  had  been  won  or  won  over  by  Apollos.  A 
third  party,  dating  perhaps  after  the  return  of  Apollos 
to  Ephesus,  and  led  by  some  teacher  or  teachers  from 
Jerusalem,  had  adopted  Peter  as  its  head.  And  still 
a  fourth  party  boasted  that  it  recognized  no  human 
leader  and  followed  Christ  alone.  Thus  the  little 
church  of  Corinth — like  the  great  church  of  Christen- 
dom to-day — was  sadly  divided  when  it  needed  to  be  a 
unit  against  its  many  foes  within  and  without.  How 
much  of  theological  dissension  underlay  these  divisions 
we  can  only  surmise.  We  are  predisposed  to  find  the 
familiar  dispute  about  the  obligations  of  the  Law.  In 
that  case  the  three  views  that  the  Law  is  binding  on  no 
one,  on  Jewish  Christians  only,  and  on  everyone,  might 
be  held  by  the  parties  of  Paul,  Peter  and  Christ  re- 
spectively; while  a  fourth  view,  that  the  Law  is  bind- 
ing in  a  spiritualized  form  on  all  (the  view  set  forth 
in  the  epistle  to  Hebrews)  might  be  that  of  the  party 
of  Apollos.  But  between  Paul  and  Apollos  themselves 
there  is  evident  harmony,  and  in  his  rebuke  of  the  fac- 
tions Paul  says  nothing  about  the  Law.  So  we  conclude 
that  the  strife  was  personal  rather  than  doctrinal. 

The  party  spirit  has  not  yet  torn  the  church  asunder ; 
but  lest  it  should  do  so,  some  one  must  visit  Corinth 
and  cast  out  the  demon  of  dissension.     Paul's  work  in 


192  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

Ephesus  was  too  pressing  for  liim  to  leave  it  (I  Cor. 
16 :  9)  ;  Apollos  for  some  reason  could  not  or  would  not 
go  (16 :  12)  ;  the  next  best  person  was  Timothy  wLlo  had 
laboured  with  Paul  in  founding  the  church.  Accord- 
ingly Timothy  was  sent  together  with  Erastus,  a  lead- 
ing member  of  the  Corinthian  church  (Eom.  16:23) 
who  was  then  in  Ephesus,  and  certain  others ;  and  they 
were  to  go  to  Corinth  by  the  way  of  Macedonia,  prob- 
ably that  they  might  initiate  the  missionary  collection 
in  the  northern  churches  (Acts  19:22;  I  Cor.  4:17; 
16:10). 

We  imagine  it  was  soon  after  they  left  that  there 
came  three  friends  of  Paul  from  Corinth, — Stephanas, 
one  of  his  earliest  converts  (I  Cor.  1:16),  Eortunatus 
and  Achaicus, — ^bringing  a  gift  (16:17)  and  also  a 
letter  from  his  loyal  friends  asking  his  advice  on  prob- 
lems that  were  perplexing  and  dividing  the  church 
(7:  1).  They  gave  him  further  information  about  the 
parties,  and  reported  the  case  of  incest  and  an  epidemic 
of  lawsuits  prosecuted  in  heathen  courts.  As  they  were 
returning  at  once,  Paul  wrote  the  letter  we  call  Eirst 
Corinthians  for  them  to  carry  back.  It  would  arrive 
in  advance  of  Timothy,  and  help  him  in  calming  the 
disturbed  church  when  he  came  (16:  10-11).  In  the 
letter  Paul  again  promises  to  visit  Corinth,  going  by 
the  way  of  Macedonia,  and  to  remain  there  perhaps  all 
the  following  winter;  he  plans  to  start  after  Pentecost 
(4: 18  f.;  16:  5  f.).  This  letter  to  the  Corinthians  is 
the  rich  fruit  of  Paul's  experience  as  a  pastor  both  at 
Corinth  and  at  Ephesus.  It  is  our  clearest  picture  of 
church  life  in  the  Apostolic  Age,  and  it  reveals  Paul's 
great  sagacity  in  dealing  with  the  problems  that  are 
forced  upon  the  leader  of  a  church.  Especially  do  we 
notice  how  he  brings  to  bear  upon  every  question,  even 


THE  LETTERS  TO  THE  CORINTHIANS     193 

a  seemingly  petty  one,  some  great,  eternal  truth  in 
which  lies  the  answer.  This  shows  how  we  ourselves 
should  treat  similar  questions,  and  also  how  far  Paul's 
injunctions  are  binding  upon  us  to-day.  The  rules  he 
laid  down  have  to  be  changed  with  changing  circum- 
stances, but  the  unchanging  truth  in  accordance  with 
which  the  old  rules  were  framed,  must  be  used  consist- 
ently in  framing  the  new. 

First  Corinthians  presupposes  so  much  knowledge  of 
the  condition  of  the  church  that  any  outline  of  its  con- 
tents cannot  give  their  full  meaning.  After  the  usual 
salutation  and  prayer  of  thanksgiving  (1:1-9),  Paul 
begins  with  the  factions  in  the  church.  He  purposely 
limits  his  censure  to  the  parties  of  Paul  and  Apollos 
because  he  would  not  seem  to  criticize  the  other  leaders, 
and  everyone  knew  that  he  and  Apollos  were  in  no  way 
rivals.  The  root  of  the  party  strife  is  the  emphasis  of 
worthless  human  distinctions.  '^  The  wisdom  of  the 
world,''  of  which  the  party  of  Apollos  boasts,  despises 
the  message  of  the  cross  and  those  who  accept  it,  and 
treats  as  foolishness  the  hidden  wisdom  of  God  which 
is  given  to  those  who  have  the  mind  of  Christ.  Instead 
of  glorying  in  Paul  or  Apollos,  the  apostle  says,  regard 
them  simply  as  God's  servants, — yours  also  since  you 
are  Christ's  and  Christ  is  God's, — doing  the  work  He 
assigns,  and  to  be  judged  by  Him  alone.  Your  com- 
placency and  conceit  are  in  startling  contrast  to  the  con- 
tempt and  suffering  heaped  upon  us.  Whatever  other 
men  may  be  to  you,  I  am  your  father:  remember  my 
teachings  and  pattern  after  me,  that  I  may  not  have 
cause  to  discipline  you  when  I  come  (1:10-4:21). 
Passing  on  to  other  matters  that  require  correction, 
Paul  commands  the  church  to  purge  out  the  incestuous 
man,  and  lays  down  the  procedure  of  his  excommunica- 


194  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

tion  (5 : 1-8).  The  injunction  to  keep  away  from  forni- 
cators, given  in  his  first  letter,  is  explained  as  referring 
only  to  those  who  are  within  the  church  circle  (9-13). 
The  absurdity  and  shame  of  resorting  to  heathen  courts 
for  the  settlement  of  differences  which,  indeed,  ought 
never  to  have  arisen,  is  emphasized  (6:1-11).  A 
warning  against  fornication  follows.  This  comes  in 
abruptly,  and  may  be  another  fragment  of  the  first  let- 
ter; although  the  specious  arguments  by  which  the 
Corinthians  justified  licentiousness  needed  to  be  an- 
swered and  the  sin  to  be  denounced  repeatedly  (12-20). 
Now  Paul  can  turn  to  the  questions  propounded  in 
the  letter,  and  first  to  those  about  marriage.  His  gen- 
eral thought  is  that  Jesus  will  return  and  establish  a 
new,  marriageless  order  of  life,  and  that  the  present 
dangers  and  hardsliips  of  Christian  living  make  further 
marriages  and  families  unadvisable;  better  for  all  to 
remain  as  they  now  are:  nevertheless,  in  a  city  like 
Corinth  there  are  many  temptations  against  which  mar- 
riage is  a  safeguard  needed  by  some ;  and  the  ascetics 
who  condemn  it  are  in  the  wrong.  The  application  of 
this  general  principle  to  all  the  different  classes  of  mar- 
ried and  unmarried  persons  is  not  easy;  and  Paul  in 
doing  it  makes  a  careful  distinction  between  what  is  his 
individual  judgment  and  what  he  knows  to  be  the  com- 
mandment of  the  Lord  (7:1-40).  The  next  question 
was  about  eating  things  sacrificed  to  idols,  either  at 
heathen  sacrificial  feasts  or  when  bought  in  the  mar- 
kets. Paul  answers  this  at  much  length  (8:1-11:1) 
because  of  its  importance.  In  the  answer  is  involved 
not  only  his  interpretation  of  the  Jerusalem  decree  to 
refrain  from  such  food  (Acts  15:29),  but  also  the 
whole  attitude  of  a  Christian  towards  the  surrounding 
heathen  life  in  which  the  social  and  religious  were  al- 


THE  LETTERS  TO  THE  CORINTHIANS     195 

most  inextricably  interwoven.  The  question  of  the 
Corinthians  is  that  of  Indian  Christians  to-day  about 
customs  of  caste,  or  Chinese  Christians  about  ancestral 
tablets,  or  Japanese  Christians  about  Shinto  shrines.  In 
our  own  land  it  arises  in  another  form  about  certain 
occupations,  amusements,  beverages,  books,  whose  con- 
nection with  evil  seems  to  some  minds  inseparable.  As 
to  its  answer  there  are  always  two  parties,  the  scrupu- 
lous and  the  charitable.  Paul  belonged  to  the  latter 
but  had  much  sympathy  for  the  former.  He  agrees 
that  an  idol  is  nothing  and  cannot  pollute  a  sacrifice; 
but  he  points  out  that  knowledge  of  this  fact  should 
create,  not  contempt  but  tender  regard  for  the  brother 
who  has  not  gained  it,  and  a  willingness  to  refrain  from 
food  offered  to  idols  lest  he  be  encouraged  to  eat  when 
for  him  eating  is  a  sin  (8: 1-13).  This  is  a  restriction 
of  Christian  liberty,  but  for  Christ's  sake.  Paul's  own 
practice  of  not  accepting  support  from  his  churches, — 
a  practice  that  ^ome  malign, — is  an  example  of  such  sur- 
render of  liberty  in  order  to  save  others  and  win  for 
himself  a  crown  (9:1-27).  To  those  who  deem  that 
the  church  and  its  sacraments  are  sufiicient  safeguards 
amid  the  pollutions  of  heathen  life,  the  story  of  Israel 
in  the  wilderness  proclaims.  Let  him  that  thinketh  he 
standeth  take  heed  lest  he  fall  (10:  1-13).  Indeed,  the 
vaunted  power  of  the  sacraments  is  itself  a  warning 
against  sharing  in  idolatry;  for  if,  as  many  think,  the 
sacrifice  to  idols  is  a  sacrifice  to  demons,  then  the  idola- 
trous feast  is  communion  with  devils  even  as  the  Lord's 
Supper  is  communion  with  Christ  (14r-22).  The  Chris- 
tian is  free ;  but  only  to  do  that  which  is  for  his  neigh- 
bour's good  and  for  the  glory  of  God:  he  must  not 
be    a    stumbling-block    to    his    brethren    who    abhor 


196  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

idolatry  or  to  heathen  who  are  seeking  Christianity 
(10;  23-11:1). 

In  every  land  where  women  have  been  kept  in  igno- 
rance, subjection  and  seclusion,  the  recognition  granted 
them  in  Christ  is  revolutionary;  and  during  their  first 
enjoyment  of  Christian  liberty  they  are  liable  to  run 
into  excesses.     Such  was  the  case  in  Corinth.    A  virtu- 
ous woman  there  appeared  in  public  but  rarely,  and 
never  without  shrouding  her  head  with  a  veil   (pep- 
lum)  ;  but  now  some  of  the  Christian  women  were  dis- 
carding the  veil  as  being  a  badge  of  inferiority.     Such 
defiance   of    convention   would    pain   the   conservative 
members  within  the  church,  and  create  scandal  among 
outsiders;    so    Paul   forbade    it.       Unquestionably   he 
was  right  in  doing  this ;  but  he  seems  to  flounder  help- 
lessly,— as  all  philosophers  do, — in  finding  a  reason  why 
one  particular  form  of  dress  is  modest  and  another  is 
not  (11:  2-16).     The  next  abuse  was  dealt  with  in  no 
uncertain  terms.     The  love-feast  of  the  church  had  be- 
come a  scene  of  selfishness,  discord  and  gluttony.     Any 
real  communion  with  Christ  was  impossible  in  it,  and 
to  partake  of  the  Lord's  Supper  under  such  circum- 
stances revealed  an  utter  failure  to  recognize  the  sig- 
nificance of  the  sacrament.     The  displeasure  of   God 
might  be  read  in  the  prevalence  of  illness  in  the  church. 
Let  the  abuse  be  stopped  at  once  (11:13-34).     Still 
another  thing  that  marred  the  Christian  gatherings  for 
worship  was  the  disturbance  caused  by  those  who  were 
eager  to  display  their  gift  of  speaking  with  tongues, 
believing   it   to   be  the   highest    manifestation   of   the 
presence  and  power  of  the  Holy  Ghost.     Their  unin- 
telligible outcries  drowned  the  prophet's  sober  words  of 
advice  and  cheer,  and  made  the  meeting  seem  a  gather- 
ing of  madmen.     In  his  attempt  to  correct  such  dis- 


THE  LETTERS  TO  THE  CORINTHIANS     197 

order  Paul  begins  with  a  discussion  of  spiritual  gifts 
in  general.  The  Holj  Spirit  dwells  in  every  man  who 
confesses  Christ  as  Lord;  for  without  His  help  such 
confession  is  impossible.  And  though  there  are  diversi- 
ties of  spiritual  gifts,  they  all  proceed  from  one  and 
the  same  Spirit  (12:1-11).  In  the  church,  which  is 
the  body  of  Christ,  the  gifts  of  the  Spirit  are  like 
powers  of  the  different  members  of  the  human  body, — 
each  contributes  to  the  welfare  of  the  whole,  and  none 
is  to  be  despised  as  base  or  useless.  The  greater  gifts 
are  to  be  most  earnestly  desired  in  work  for  Christ,  yet 
there  is  a  still  more  excellent  way  to  serve  Him 
(12:12-31).  And  here  Paul  breaks  forth  into  his 
hymn  in  praise  of  love, — one  of  the  most  beautiful  pas- 
sages ever  penned  (13:1-13).  Concerning  tongues,  it 
is  a  showy  gift ;  but  when  measured  by  profitableness, — 
the  true  test  of  a  gift's  value, — it  is  not  to  be  compared 
with  prophecy;  and  its  exercise,  if  not  carefully  regu- 
lated, will  hinder  rather  than  help  the  church.  Speak- 
ing with  tongues  is  not  to  be  forbidden,  but  the  disorder 
it  is  causing  must  be  stopped  (14: 1-40). 

The  Christians  of  Corinth  were  much  divided  in 
their  thought  of  the  resurrection.  Some  accepted  the 
Jewish  idea  that  at  the  coming  of  the  Messiah  those  who 
are  to  share  His  kingdom  will  come  forth  from  the 
grave  with  their  earthly  bodies  revived.  Others  scoffed 
at  this  as  childish  (cf.  Acts  17:  18,  32),  and  clung  to 
some  form  of  the  Greek  idea  that  the  future  life  is  in 
a  purely  disembodied  state.  Yet  these  latter  may  not 
have  rejected  the  resurrection  of  Christ ;  for  the  thought 
that  a  god  could  die  and  rise  again  was  familiar  to  them 
in  the  stories  of  Osiris  and  Attys.  Paul  has  to  deal 
with  these  various  and  contradictory  ideas  as  he  pro- 
ceeds next  to  set  forth  the  Christian  doctrine  of  the 


198  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

resurrection.  He  begins  by  rehearsing  the  proofs  of 
Christ's  resurrection  (15:  1-11),  and  declares  that  any 
who  refuse  to  believe  that  the  dead  rise,  must  reject 
these  proofs  and  all  the  faith  and  hope  established  by 
them  (12-19).  But  since  it  is  a  fact  that  Christ  has 
risen,  those  who  sleep  in  Him  will  certainly  in  due  time 
share  His  resurrection,  and  death  will  be  abolished 
(20-28).  Without  such  complete  triumph  over  the 
grave,  the  future  life  is  not  worth  the  sacrifices  of  the 
present  (29-34).  Nevertheless,  those  who  expect  to 
have  a  body  of  flesh  and  blood  in  the  resurrection,  are 
mistaken.  To  every  form  of  life  God  gives  a  body 
suited  to  its  environment ;  and  since  the  heavenly  world 
is  spiritual,  the  body  raised  from  the  dead  for  life  in 
that  world,  Will  be  a  spiritual  body,  connected  with  the 
earthly  somewhat  as  the  standing  wheat  is  with  the  seed 
(35-49).  Such  glorious  investment  with  the  spiritual, 
incorruptible  body  is  our  final  victory  over  sin  and 
death  through  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  (50-58).  The 
epistle  closes  with  a  brief  suggestion  about  the  collec- 
tion, a  number  of  personal  details  which  we  have  al- 
ready considered,  and  some  autographic  words  of  greet- 
ing (16  : 1-24).  And  with  mingled  hope  and  apprehen- 
sion Paul  entrusted  it  to  his  friends  to  bear  to  the 
troubled,  distracted  church  across  the  Aegean. 

3.     The  Third  Letter,  now  II  Corinthians  10-13. 

Before  Paul  was  driven  from  Ephesus  by  the  riot, 
some  unnamed  person  in  Corinth  had  wronged  him  and 
a  friend  of  his  so  grievously  as  to  call  forth  a  letter 
written  with  many  tears  out  of  much  afiliction  and  an- 
guish of  heart, — a  letter  s'o  stern  and  bitter  that  after- 
ward for  a  time  Paul  regi-etted  writing  it  (II  Cor. 
2 :  4  f. ;  7 :  12,  8).    That  the  wrong-doer  was  not  the  in- 


THE  LETTERS  TO  THE  CORINTHIANS     199 

cestuous  man  but  the  leader  of  a  large  group  in  the 
church,  is  evident  both  from  the  personal  injury  Paul 
suffered  and  from  the  deep  and  widespread  repentance 
and  clearing  aroused  by  Paul's  rebuke  (7:  7-12).  And 
the  letter  could  not  have  been  our  First  Corinthians ; — 
that  letter  was  not  written  with  tears  nor  such  as  to  be 
a  cause  for  regret.  Possibly  the  sorrowful  letter  is  lost ; 
but  many  scholars  think  that  we  have  it  preserved  as 
the  last  four  chapters  of  Second  Corinthians.  These 
chapters  reveal  an  indignation,  a  sense  of  injustice  and 
injury,  and  a  painful  necessity  for  self-vindication, 
that  fit  well  with  Paul's  description  of  his  state  of  mind 
when  he  wrote  the  sorrowful  letter.  And  clearly  they 
cannot  have  been  written  at  the  same  period  as  the 
chapters  now  preceding  them  which  are  full  of  joy  and 
praise.  NTo  man  could  write,  "  I  rejoice  that  in  every- 
thing I  am  of  good  courage  concerning  you"  (7: 16), 
and  close  his  letter  by  saying  "  to  them  that  have  sinned 
heretofore  and  to  all  the  rest,  if  I  come  again,  I  will 
not  spare  "  but  ''  deal  sharply  "  (13 :  2,  10).  We  con- 
clude, then,  that  our  Second  Corinthians  is  not  one  let- 
ter but  a  collection  of  Paul's  letters  to  Corinth,  viz. :  a 
fragment  of  his  first  letter  (6:  14-7: 1)  ;  a  part,  pos- 
sibly nearly  all,  of  his  third  and  sorrowful  letter 
(10:1-13:14);  and  the  whole  of  his  fourth  letter. 
And  it  is  not  at  all  strange  that  these  three  should  be 
put  together  in  later  days  by  someone  who  wished  to 
preserve  them,  and  therefore  copied  them  upon  one 
papyrus  roll  of  convenient  size.  Unfortunately  he  took 
no  pains  to  indicate  their  separate  origin;  doubtless  it 
did  not  seem  to  him  of  importance.  And  what  led  him 
to  insert  6 :  14-7 :  1  just  where  he  did,  we  shall  never 
know. 

From  the  contents  we  can  make  a  fair  guess  as  to 


200  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

wliat  called  forth  this  letter  of  sorrow.  The  opposition 
to  Paul  in  Corinth  was  more  bitter  and  extensive  than 
he  dreamed  when  he  wrote  I  Corinthians.  The  leaders 
in  it  were  certain  men,  probably  from  Jerusalem  where 
Paul  was  unceasingly  hated,  who  brought  letters  of 
commendation  (10:12,  18;  12:11;  cf.  3:1),  and 
claimed  to  be*  special  representatives  of  Christ  (10:  7; 
13:3).  False  apostles  and  ministers  of  Satan,  Paul 
calls  them  (11:13-15).  They  boasted  of  the  works 
they  had  wrought  (11:18  f.).  They  declared  that 
Paul  was  not  an  apostle  (12:  11-12;  11:  5),  and  that 
this  was  the  real  reason,  though  he  had  given  another, 
why  he  did  not  demand  support  from  the  churches  in 
which  he  laboured  (11 :  7  f. ;  12 :  13  f.).  They  sneered 
at  the  tone  of  authority  in  his  letters  when  absent,  as 
being  very  unlike  his  humble  bearing  and  ineffective 
speech  when  present  (10:8-10).  They  represented 
that  his  plan  of  a  collection  for  the  poor  at  Jerusalem 
was  a  crafty  scheme  for  filling  his  own  depleted  purse 
(12 :  17-18  ;  cf.  8  :  20).  And  when  Timothy  arrived  as 
Paul's  agent,  they  refused  to  accept  him,  and  someone 
did  him  grievous  wrong  (7 :  12).  It  was  the  report  of 
all  this,  brought  back  probably  by  Timothy  himself, 
that  called  forth  the  letter,  written  out  of  much  afiiic- 
tion  and  ang-uish  of  heart  and  with  many  tears  (2:4). 
The  opening  words,  ''  jST ow  I  Paul  myself  entreat  you," 
may  indicate  that  he  did  not  even  employ  an  amanuensis. 
Titus  was  selected  as  the  best  person  to  carry  it  to  the 
Corinthians.  They  had  been  friendly  to  him  before; 
Paul  was  sure  they  would  give  him  a  kindly  reception 
now.  Indeed,  despite  all  the  pain  they  were  causing, 
Paul  seems  to  have  felt  that  they  were  true  at  heart, 
and  to  have  said  so  to  Titus  (7:  14). 

The  letter  does  not  admit   of  analysis: — ^loglc  and 


THE  LETTERS  TO  THE  CORINTHIANS     201 

emotion  are  never  good  yoke-fellows.  Nor  is  it  in  all 
places  easily  understood.  It  is  like  an  impassioned 
dialogue  in  which  we  can  hear  only  one  of  the  speak- 
ers. Phrases  that  his  enemies  had  used  in  self-praise 
or  hurled  against  Paul  in  abuse,  are  repeated  by  him 
with  sarcastic  or  indignant  comment.  Charges  are  an- 
swered whereof  we  know  little.  The  smoke  of  battle 
obscures  our  vision.  But  the  letter  is  precious  as  a 
unique  self -revelation  of  Paul.  In  no  other  letter  does 
he  so  dwell  upon  himself  and  lift  the  veil  from  his  years 
of  missionary  toils  and  dangers  and  sufferings  and 
wondrous  spiritual  experiences.  Yet,  full  as  it  is  of 
self-defence,  it  was  written,  not  as  an  apologia  pro  vita 
sua  but  as  an  agonizing  effort  to  cast  down  the  enemies 
of  Christ  and  protect  the  church  of  Corinth.  If  by  it 
the  wrong-doers  could  be  roused  to  penitence  and  self- 
probation,  he  would  not  have  to  deal  sharply  and  sor- 
rowfully with  them  when  he  came.  For  he  had  changed 
his  plans  once  more, — the  third  time, — and  now  was 
resolved  to  go  directly  to  Corinth  before  he  went  into 
Macedonia  (1 :  15  f.).  But  he  did  not  wish  to  go  until 
he  had  heard  through  Titus  how  the  letter  w^as  received. 
This  was  the  reason  why,  when  a  few  weeks  later  he 
was  driven  from  E^phesus,  he  went  to  Troas  instead  of 
directly  to  Corinth. 

4.    The  Fourth  Letter,  now  II  Corinthians  1-9. 

At  Troas  Paul  found  the  door  opened  which  had  been 
closed  against  the  gospel  when  he  was  there  before  (II 
Cor.  2: 12;  Acts  16:  6  f.).  But  though  he  could  not 
refuse  to  enter,  his  anxiety  to  know  what  his  letter  had 
wrought  in  Corinth  made  him  too  restless  to  remain. 
Others  could  carry  on  the  work  without  him ;  so,  be- 
cause Titus  was  slow  in  coming  with  the  craved  report. 


202  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

hie  crossed  to  Macedonia  and  met  him  somewhere  on  his 
way  from  Corinth.  The  tidings  now  received  greatly 
refreshed  his  heart.  The  Corinthians  had  welcomed 
Titus,  and  the  letter  had  stirred  them  to  repentance 
and  the  needed  reforms.  The  chief  offender  had  been 
severely  punished  and  was  now  truly  penitent.  A  few 
still  reiterated  the  old  criticisms,  and  many  felt  that 
Paul's  repeated  failure  to  visit  them  as  he  had  promised 
was  reprehensible;  but  this  was  merely  the  rumble  of 
a  storm  whose  force  was  spent.  Unfortunately  the  mis- 
sionary collection,  which  Paul  supposed  to  be  in  prog- 
ress, had  been  stopped  by  the  opposition  of  his  slander- 
ous enemies.  It  must  be  started  anew  at  once,  for  the 
time  of  its  close  was  drawing  near.  The  state  of  the 
churches  in  Macedonia,  as  we  shall  see,  held  Paul  there 
for  the  present;  so,  because  Titus  had  begun  the  col- 
lection the  previous  year,  Paul  sent  him  back  again  to 
complete  it  with  two  unnamed  assistants  of  whom  Paul 
speaks  so  highly  that  we  regret  they  cannot  be  identified 
(8: 16-24).  And  by  Titus  he  sent  a  letter  which  in 
tone  and  contents  was  in  marked  contrast  to  the  one  so 
recently  preceding  it.  His  great  desire,  everywhere 
evident  in  it,  was  to  dispel  the  last  clouds  of  bitterness 
and  opposition,  and  to  bind  tlie  church  most  firmly  to 
himself  once  more.  This  letter  is  preserved  in  full  ex- 
cept some  closing  words. 

Paul  joins  Timothy  with  himself  in  the  salutation, 
since  the  two  had  shared  the  wrong  now  forgiven  (II 
Cor.  1:1-2).  He  begins  with  a  prayer  of  thanksgiving 
for  the  comfort  God  has  gTanted  after  what  he  has  suf- 
fered both  in  spirit  and  in  body,  and  for  the  assurance 
that  henceforth  in  all  sufferings  and  consolations  the 
Corinthians  and  he  will  remain  in  unbroken  fellowship 
(3-11).     He  has  been  sincere  in  his  steadfast  care  for 


THE  LETTERS  TO  THE  CORINTHIANS     203 

them ;  and  this  should  not  be  doubted  despite  his  failure 
to  pay  the  promised  visit ;  for  his  change  of  plans  came 
from  his  unchanging  desire  to  cause  them  joy  not  sor- 
row, even  as  the  painful  letter  v^as  written  not  to  make 
them  sorry  but  to  make  them  know  his  love  (1:  12- 
2:4).  As  for  the  offender  who  had  been  a  source  of 
sorrow  to  all,  sufficient  punishment  has  been  inflicted 
upon  him;  now  forgive  and  comfort  him  lest  his  soul 
be  drowned  in  despair  (2:5-11).  The  good  news 
brought  by  Titus  makes  Paul  thank  God  for  this  proof 
that  his  ministry  in  Christ  is  everywhere  effectual 
(12-17).  This  is  not  self-praise,  such  as  he  was  forced 
to  use  when  he  wrote  before ;  he  needs  no  letter  of  com- 
mendation, for  the  Corinthians  themselves  are  such  a 
letter  written  by  Christ  and  read  of  all  men  (3:1-3). 
And  it  is  not  through  his  own  power  that  he  has  worked, 
but  through  God  who  has  made  him  the  minister  of  a 
new  covenant,  life-giving,  glorious,  permanent  and  trans- 
forming, such  as  the  old  covenant  which  Moses  minis- 
tered could  not  be  (4-18).  In  the  ministry  of  this 
covenant  there  can  be  nothing  hidden  or  deceitful, 
though  those  who  are  blind  to  the  gospel  allege  the  con- 
trary (4:1-6)  ;  and  the  apostle's  weakness  and  persecu- 
tions, which  they  jeer  at,  are  a  reproduction  of  the  life 
of  Jesus, — all  for  the  sake  of  the  Corinthians  (T-15). 
Therefore,  he  never  loses  heart;  and  his  present  afflic- 
tions seem  light  while  he  looks  at  things  eternal,  and  is 
assured  that  presently  he  shall  exchange  this  body  of 
pain  for  the  heavenly  body,  and  be  ^'  -at  home  with  the 
Lord"  (4:16-5:8).  Whether  at  home  or  absent,  his 
one  aim  is  to  be  to  be  well-pleasing  to  Christ  who  is  the 
judge  of  all  (9-11).  And  the  love  of  Christ,  by  whose 
death  and  risen  life  all  things  have  been  made  new, 
forces  him  to  undertake  the  ministry  of  reconciliation, 


204  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

and  on  behalf  of  Christ  to  entreat  them  to  be  reconciled 
to  God  (5:11-6:2).  All  his  sufferings,  all  his  spir- 
itual powers,  all  the  paradoxes  of  his  Christian  life,  are 
the  credentials  of  this  ministry  (6:  3-10)  ;  so  he  may 
appeal  to  the  Corinthians  to  open  their  hearts  to  him^ 
even  as  he  holds  them  in  his  heart  (6:  11-13;  7:  2-4). 
Once  more  he  tells  at  fuller  length  the  storj  of  meeting 
Titus,  and  his  joy  over  the  report  of  how  they  had 
treated  his  letter  and  Titus  himself  (7:5-16).  Then 
he  turns  to  the  subject  of  the  collection  (8:  1-9:  15), 
which  we  shall  consider  later.  The  concluding  words 
of  the  epistle,  as  well  as  the  opening  salutation  of  the 
third  epistle,  were  lost  or  omitted  when  the  two  were 
joined  together.  A  papyrus  manuscript  was  always 
brittle,  and  if  much  used,  as  the  instructions  about  the 
collection  would  be,  might  become  hopelessly  broken. 


XII 
PAUL'S  PREPARATION  FOR  SPAIN 

AMBITIOUS  to  preach  the  gospel  where  the 
name  of  Christ  has  not  been  named/'  so  Paul 
describes  himself.  Like  Francis  Xavier  or 
David  Livingstone  he  was  by  nature  a  pioneer.  He 
would  build  on  no  other  man's  foundations.  And  now 
that  he  had  completed  his  work  in  Asia,  and  that  the 
East  was  increasingly  full  of  Christian  workers,  he  felt 
he  had  "  no  more  any  place  in  these  regions  "  (Rom. 
15 :  23).  The  land  of  the  pillars  of  Hercules,  whither 
no  missionary  yet  had  ventured,  called  to  him ;  and  he 
was  eager  to  undertake  the  long  and  hazardous  journey 
from  which  probably  he  would  never  return.  Two 
things  remained  to  be  done  before  he  could  start: — ^he 
must  bind  the  Corinthian  church  to  Christ  and  himself 
more  firmly  by  making  that  oft-postponed  visit,  and  he 
must  go  to  Jerusalem  with  those  who  carried  the  con- 
tribution for  the  poor  among  its  saints. 

1.  The  Collection  for  the  Poor  in  Jerusalem- 
Years  had  passed  since  the  heads  of  the  church  at 
Jerusalem  urged  Barnabas  and  Paul  not  to  forget  their 
poor.  What  Barnabas  had  done  about  it,  we  do  not 
know.  Paul  had  done  nothing,  unless  he  did  take  an 
offering  from  the  church  at  Corinth  when  he  went  up 
and  saluted  the  parent  church  on  his  way  to  Antioch. 
But  what  he  saw  or  was  told  on  that  occasion  may  have 
revealed  to  him  the  importance  of  collecting  a  generous 
gift  from  all  his  churches  before  he  went  to  Spain.    He 

205 


206  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

was  roused,  we  may  suppose,  not  so  mucli  by  the  poverty 
of  these  Jewish  Christians  as  by  their  increasing  dis- 
like of  their  Gentile  brethren  and  disbelief  in  the  gen- 
uineness of  the  fruits  of  his  gospel.  Though  he  had 
fought  a  long  and  painful  battle  for  Christian  unity, 
there  was  danger  that  after  all  the  body  of  Christ  would 
not  be  one.  And  the  collection  seemed  a  hopeful  means 
of  averting  such  disruption.  It  would  be  an  indisput- 
able evidence  that  his  churches  possessed  the  spirit  of 
Christ ;  and  it  would  bind  Jew  and  Gentile  together  in 
the  blessed  fellowship  of  giving  and  receiving. 

To  induce  his  churches  to  make  this  offering  was  not 
altogether  easy.  If  the  Jews  despised  the  Gentiles, 
what  love  had  the  Gentiles  for  the  Jews  ?  And  if  the 
church  in  Jerusalem  could  not  support  its  poor,  did  not 
the  churches  in  Gentile  lands  have  their  own  problems 
of  poverty  ?  Enthusiasm  over  a  missionary  offering  was 
kindled  with  difficulty  in  the  first  century,  even  as  now. 
Paul  could  not  impose  the  collection  upon  his  churches 
by  apostolic  command ;  it  would  lose  its  value  thus ;  he 
could  only  advise  it  and  urge  it,  and  wait  their  pleasure 
(Rom.  15:  26).  He  pointed  to  the  duty  of  making  a 
contribution  as  the  payment  of  a  debt  (Rom.  15:  27)  ; 
to  the  desirability  of  it  as  the  development  of  a  Chris- 
tian grace  (II  Cor.  8:7);  to  the  blessings  that  would 
arise  from  it  in  answer  to  grateful  prayers  of  the  re- 
cipients (9:  12-14)  ;  and  to  the  example  of  Jesus  and 
the  unspeakable  gift  of  God  ( 8  :  9  ;  9  :  15 ) .  And  he  did 
not  hesitate  to  stir  up  emulation  in  the  matter  (9:2). 
As  for  the  manner  in  which  the  offering  should  be  col- 
lected, he  advised  that  on  the  first  day  of  the  week  each 
disciple  should  set  aside  a  sum  in  proportion  to  the  in- 
come of  the  previous  week  (I  Cor.  16:2).  And  he 
arranged   that  the   churches   in   each   province   should 


PAUL'S  PREPARATION  FOR  SPAIN        207 

select  trusted  delegates  to  carry  their  offerings  to  Jeru- 
salem (16:3),  an  arrangement  doubtless  suggested  by 
the  custom  of  Jewish  communities  in  Gentile  lands,  who 
chose  such  delegates  to  carry  their  offerings  to  the 
temple.  It  had  two  advantages: — no  suspicion  could 
arise  that  the  funds  would  be  appropriated  by  Paul  or 
his  agents;  and  the  meeting  of  this  body  of  Gentile 
Christians  with  the  Jerusalem  church  would  give  each 
a  fuller  knowledge  and  better  opinion  of  the  other. 

Luke  makes  only  an  incidental  mention  of  the  collec- 
tion (Acts  24:17),  though  he  was  one  of  those  who 
went  to  Jerusalem  with  it.  The  silence  seems  strange  un- 
til we  reflect  that  his  narrative  deals  with  the  spread  of 
the  gospel  rather  than  with  the  internal  development 
of  the  church.  However,  Luke  gives  a  list  of  those  who 
went  with  Paul  to  Jerusalem  (20:4),  and  evidently 
they  are  the  churches'  delegates.  Our  knowledge  of  the 
offering  is  gained  from  Paul's  letters.  They  show  that 
when  he  had  fully  determined  upon  making  it,  he  set 
about  the  task  with  his  usual  energy.  As  we  have  al- 
ready seen,  Titus  was  sent  to  inaugurate  the  collection 
in  Achaia,  and  later  to  quicken  it  again  into  activity; 
and  someone,  perhaps  Titus,  went  to  Galatia  to  do  the 
same,  or  to  find  out  whether  the  churches  there  were 
following  the  counsel  Paul  had  given  them  in  his  last 
visit.  In  Macedonia  Paul  himself  could  promote  the 
collection  which  Timothy  and  Erastus  had  proposed 
when  they  passed  through  the  province  on  their  way  to 
Corinth.  The  Macedonian  churches,  however,  were  in 
such  deep  poverty  and  so  burdened  with  imperial  taxa- 
tion that  he  hesitated  to  ask  gifts  from  them ;  yet,  with 
a  gladness  and  consecration  which  touched  his  heart, 
they  begged  a  share  in  this  ministry  to  the  saints,  and 
gave  according  to  their  power,  yes,  beyond  their  power 


208  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

(II  Cor.  8:2-5).  Before  his  visit  to  Macedonia  Paul 
had  been  doubtful  whether  he  would  go  with  the  others 
to  Jerusalem  (I  Cor.  16 :  4) ;  but  after  it — perhaps  be- 
cause the  response  was  so  generous — he  was  determined 
to  go  even  at  all  hazards  (Kom.  15  :  25  ;  Acts  21 :  10  f.). 
Evidently  as  the  collection  progressed,  he  became  in- 
creasingly enthusiastic  over  it,  and  impressed  with  its 
possible  fruits.  His  latest  message  to  the  Corinthians 
about  it  (II  Cor.  8:1-9:  15)  rises  to  an  exultant  note 
of  praise. 

2.    The  Epistle  to  the  Romans. 

Paul  spent  fully  six  months  in  Macedonia.  The  col- 
lection would  demand  little  attention;  but  this  was  a 
farewell  visit,  and  there  were  plenty  of  matters  to  de- 
tain him.  The  churches  were  having  a  hard  time,  and 
needed  his  fatherly  counsel  and  cheer.  He  speaks  of 
their  affliction  in  which  he  shared, — of  fightings  with- 
out and  fears  within  (II  Cor.  8:2;  7:5);  but  he  does 
not  tell  us  the  cause  or  causes.  Were  Jewish  enemies 
still  stirring  up  persecutions,  as  in  the  beginning? 
This  seems  likely;  yet  Gentile  foes  might  be  equally 
aggressive,  or  traitors  within  the  church  might  be  caus- 
ing trouble  as  at  Corinth.  Luke  states  merely  that  Paul 
made  a  tour  of  the  churches,  encouraging  them  with 
many  words  (Acts  20:  2).  But  the  apostle  must  also 
have  pushed  into  new  fields;  else  he  could  not  have  re- 
ported, ^'  1  have  fully  preached  the  gospel  of  Christ  even 
unto  Illyricum'^  (Rom.  15:19).  A  whole  unwritten 
chapter  of  missionary  experience  lies  behind  that  brief 
statement.  After  this,  say  in  December  55  a.d.,  he 
came  down  to  Corinth.  The  church  welcomed  him,  and 
the  hospitable  house  of  Gains,  one  of  his  own  converts 
(Eom.  16:  23;  I  Cor.  1:  15),  became  his  home.    Here 


PAUL'S  PREPARATION  FOR  SPAIN        209 

he  waited  until  the  collection  was  completed,  and  the 
season  of  navigation  opened  for  the  voyage  to  Jeru- 
salem. For  the  first  time,  perhaps,  since  he  began  his 
missionary  life,  there  was  no  pressing  task  upon  him. 
And  so  he  set  himself  to  write  a  letter  upon  which,  un- 
like the  hurried  ones  he  had  dashed  off  hitherto,  he 
could  bestow  calm  and  abundant  thought.  It  is  our 
Epistle  to  the  Romans. 

The  beginnings  of  the  church  at  Rome  are  beyond 
our  ken.  The  imperial  city  drew  all  things  good  or  bad 
to  itself;  and  Christianity  must  have  reached  it  at  a 
very  early  date.  ^^  Sojourners  from  Rome"  were 
among  Peter's  listeners  at  Pentecost  (Acts  2:  10)  ;  per- 
haps they  accepted  his  message,  and  carried  it  back  to 
Rome.  Nor  do  we  know  anything  about  the  condition 
of  the  Roman  church  and  its  composition — whether 
mainly  Jewish  or  Gentile — when  Paul  wrote  to  it.  His 
epistle  is  vainly  scrutinized  for  information.  Doubt- 
less he  knew  a  good  deal  about  the  church,  since  mem- 
bers from  it  would  often  come  to  Corinth  or  Ephesus; 
but  he  tells  us  almost  nothing.  We  understand  why, 
when  we  recognize  his  reasons  for  writing  the  epistle. 
Despite  all  his  ambitious  plans  for  future  work,  Paul 
felt  that  very  possibly  the  end  was  close  at  hand.  He 
had  narrowly  escaped  death  in  Ephesus  (II  Cor. 
1:8  f.)  ;  he  had  faced  it  with  good  courage  in  Mace- 
donia (Id.  5:6  f.)  ;  the  Jews  now  were  plotting  against 
him  in  Corinth  (Acts  20:  3)  ;  and  the  journey  to  Jeru- 
salem was  into  the  very  stronghold  of  his  foes  (Rom. 
15 :  31 ;  Acts  20  :  22  f.).  It  might  be  the  will  of  God 
that  he  never  should  go  to  Rome  and  thence  to  Spain 
(Rom.  1 :  10  ;  15  :  24).  If  so,  he  could  not  proclaim  to 
the  central  church  of  the  Gentile  world  the  good  news 
of  the  efficacy  of  the  work  of  Christ  when  faith  creates 


210  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

a  vital  union  with  Him, — a  message  so  specially  his 
own  that  he  calls  it  '' mj  gospel"  (2:16;  16:25). 
And  he  knew  or,  at  least,  all  his  previous  experiences 
led  him  to  suppose  that  both  his  gospel  and  himself  were 
misrepresented  and  slandered  at  Rome  as  elsewhere. 
Accordingly  he  determined  to  write  a  letter  to  the 
Eomans.  Its  subject-matter  would  be  much  the  same 
as  of  his  letter  to  the  Galatians ;  but  he  wrote  that  letter 
in  haste  and  great  anxiety,  while  now  he  had  an  oppor- 
tunity to  write  deliberately,  calmly  and  at  length.  He 
would  make  a  full  and  clear  statement  of  the  gospel 
which  he  proclaimed  and  which  the  Judaizers  opposed. 
If  he  was  privileged  to  preach  to  the  Romans  later  on, 
the  letter  would  prepare  them  to  give  him  an  unpreju- 
diced hearing;  if  he  was  soon  to  die,  it  would  be  his 
best  legacy  to  them  and  to  all  his  churches.  The  epis- 
tle, therefore,  did  not  arise  from  conditions  in  the 
church  of  Rome,  and  for  that  reason  contains  little 
about  them.  Its  background  is  Paul's  own  experiences 
past  and  present, — his  conversion,  his  months  in  Arabia, 
his  work  among  the  Gentiles,  his  discussions  with  the 
leaders  at  Jerusalem,  his  battle  with  the  Judaizers  who 
were  still  dogging  his  steps, — in  short,  all  that  had  gone 
to  reveal  to  him  the  meaning  and  power  of  faith  in 
Christ.  The  letter  is  often  treated  as  an  abstract  theo- 
logical essay  on  justification  by  faith;  in  reality  it  is 
a  deeply  emotional  and  most  personal  defence  of  the 
apostle  and  his  gospel.  The  problems  it  discusses  reach 
the  very  center  of  Paul's  life  and  labours;  the  argu- 
ments it  presents  have  been  forged  in  the  fire  of  re- 
peated controversies.  Written  with  great  care — and 
doubtless  many  a  prayer — and  dealing  with  a  central 
theme  of  Christianity,  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans  is  the 
greatest  of  his  letters. 


PAUL'S  PREPARATION  FOR  SPAIN        211 

Paul's  salutation  to  the  Romans  is  most  elaborate, 
since  they  had  never  met  him;  it  sets  forth  his  claims 
to  be  an  apostle  (1:1-7),  and  is  followed  by  a  careful 
and  conciliatory  explanation  of  his  purpose  in  making 
the  proposed  visit  (8-15).    He  so  words  this  as  to  lead 
up  naturally  to  a  statement  of  the  gospel  he  preaches 
and  desires  to  set  forth  to  them,  namely,  that  salvation 
for  all  alike  comes  through  faith,  and  in  it  is  revealed 
a  righteousness  of  God  as  faith  grows  more  and  more 
(16-17).     This  is  really  the  theme  of  his  whole  letter. 
And   first  he  treats  its  doctrinal  side.     The  lack  of 
righteousness  is  universal.     The   Gentiles   show   it  by 
their  blindness  to  God's  revelation  of  Himself  in  nature, 
and  by  their  surrender  to  idolatry  and  foulest  lusts 
(1 :  18-32).    The  Jews,  though  they  look  down  upon  the 
Gentiles,  and  boast  in  the  Law  and  circumcision,  show 
it  equally  by  their  failure  to  keep  the  Law,  and  by  the 
uncircumcision  of  their  hearts  (2:1-29).     Here  Paul 
waives  aside  with  brief  answers  the  familiar  Jewish  ob- 
jections,— Are  we  not  better  than  Gentiles?     Can  Go'd 
break  His  promises  to  us  ?    You  encourage  sin,  if  you 
magnify  the  grace  of  God  to  sinners ; — these  objections 
will  be  treated  more  fully  later  on  (3:1-8).    The  Scrip- 
ture, then,  is  true  that  affirms.  There  is  none  righteous, 
no,  not  one  (9-20).     But,  though  there  is  no  human 
righteousness,  there  is  a  righteousness  of  God  offered 
to  all,  and  gained  by  faith  in  Jesus  Christ,  whom  God 
set  forth  to  be  a  propitiation,  that  thereby  He  might, 
Himself  be  righteous  in  forgiving  sins  and  make  right- 
eous those  who  have  this  faith   (21-26).     And  since 
salvation  is  of  faith  and  not  of  merit,  the  Jewish  glory» 
ing  in  the  Law  is  vain,  though  the  Law  is  not  abolished 
but  fulfilled  (27-31). 

The    case    of    Abraham    supports    PauFs    doctrine. 


212  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

thougli  his  opponents  delight  to  cite  it  against  him.  It 
was  Abraham^s  faith,  not  his  works,  that  was  reckoned 
for  righteousness  (4: 1-8)  ;  and  this  was  before  he  was 
circumcised,  i.e.,  when  he  still  was  as  the  Gentiles;  so 
all  the  faithful  alike  may  call  him  father  (9-12),  and 
the  promise  God  made  to  him  had  no  dependence  upon 
keeping  the  Law  (13-17).  Indeed,  Abraham's  faith 
concerning  the  birth  of  Isaac  is  typical  of  our  faith  con- 
cerning the  resurrection  of  Christ  (18-25).  Another 
proof  of  the  doctrine  is  personal  experience.  Justifica- 
tion by  faith  gives  us  peace  with  God  and  hope  of  His 
glory  and  rejoicing  even  in  tribulations,  because  we  are 
assured  of  the  love  of  God  revealed  in  His  Son,  through 
whose  death  we  have  received  reconciliation  and  in 
whose  life  we  shall  be  saved  (5:1-11).  Christ's  right- 
eousness operates  like  Adam's  sinfulness:  as  sin  with 
the  penalty  of  death  is  shared  by  all  who  are  one  with 
Adam  by  natural  descent,  so — though  far  more  abun- 
dantly— righteousness  with  the  gift  of  eternal  life  is 
shared  by  all  who  are  one  with  Christ  by  faith  (12-19). 
As  for  the  Law,  it  came  in  later  to  make  the  grace  of 
God  in  forgiving  sins  more  evident  by  revealing  the  sin- 
fulness of  men  (20-21). 

Thus  far  Paul  has  been  stating  what  his  gospel  is, 
in  order  to  correct  misapprehensions  of  it.  'Now  he 
turns  to  answer  familiar  objections  to  it.  Paul's  op- 
ponents honestly  believed  that  to  represent  righteous- 
ness as  arising  from  faith  and  not  from  obedience  to 
law, — either  the  Jewish  Law  or  the  law  of  conscience, — 
would  lead  men  to  indulge  in  sin  without  restraint. 
There  is,  indeed,  this  danger,  as  many  a  sad  page  of 
church  history  reveals.  And  Paul  has  to  point  out  that 
release  from  law  does  not  bring  liberty  for  sinning,  and 
that  the  holiness  of  him  who  is  joined  to  Christ  by  faith 


PAUL'S  PREPARATION  FOR  SPAIN        213 

is  the  real  and  only  lioliness.  As  he  has  hitherto  dealt 
with  the  work  of  faith  in  justification,  so  now  he  deals 
with  the  fruit  of  faith  in  sanctification.  Ilis  preced- 
ing remark  about  the  grace  of  God  shown  in  the  for- 
giveness of  sins,  calls  up  an  objection  already  noted 
(3:  8),  namely,  that  if  the  greater  our  sin,  the  more 
God's  grace  is  evident,  then  we  glorify  Ilim  by  continu- 
ing in  sin  (6;  1).  Crying  out  against  this  as  a  mon- 
strous assertion,  he  replies  by  stating  more  fully  (cf. 
Gal.  2  :20)  his  conception  of  the  nature  of  the  Christian 
life.  When  we  become  one  with  Christ  by  faith,  our 
old  self  ends,  and  a  new  self,  not  ours  but  His,  begins. 
The  change  is  not  a  refoi-mation ;  it  is  a  death  and  resur- 
rection, even  as  Christian  baptism  signifies.  Because 
Christ  lives  in  us.  His  death  to  sin  on  the  cross  is  ours, 
and  His  risen  life  unto  God  is  ours.  Sin,  therefore,  has 
no  dominion  over  us  (6:  1-14).  But,  says  the  objector, 
if  there  is  no  law  restraining  us,  we  can  do  what  we 
please  (15).  Evidently  for  this  objector  Paul's  pre- 
vious picture  of  the  life  in  Christ  was  too  mystical,  so 
he  puts  it  in  a  simpler  form.  Without  the  law  you  are 
not  freed  from  restraint;  you  are  bound  to  righteous- 
ness. Once  you  were  slaves  of  sin  whose  work  is  un- 
cleanness  and  whose  wage  is  death ;  now  you  are  slaves 
of  God  whose  work  is  sanctification  and  whose  free 
gift — ^not  wage,  since  no  one  can  earn  it — is  eternal 
life  in  Christ  (16-23).  Or,  to  use  another  illustration, 
once  you  were  wedded  to  sin,  as  a  wife  to  a  husband, 
and  brought  forth  as  offspring  of  that  marriage,  sm 
unto  death.  That  union  was  ended  when  your  old  self 
ceased  to  exist.  Now  your  new  self  is  wedded  to  Christ, 
and  its  offspring  are  righteous  acts  unto  God  (7:  1-6). 
You  regard  the  Law,  then,  as  an  iniquitous  device  for 
creating  sin  ?  says  the  objector.     N'ot  at  all,  is  the  an- 


214  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

swer;  the  Law  is  holy  and  righteous  and  good,  and  its 
purpose  is  to  make  us  recognize  sin.    And  then,  to  illus- 
trate this,  Paul  gives  us  two  chapters  out  of  his  own 
spiritual  history.     He  pictures  how  the  Law  wakened 
within  him  an  intense  consciousness  of  sin  and  an  ever- 
deepening  recognition  of  his  helplessness,  as  he  agoniz- 
ingly but  vainly  struggled  to  keep  it  and  gain  the  holi- 
ness it  set  before  him.     The  result  was  utter  despair, 
i.e.,  death  (7-25).     Then  came  the  gift  of  the  new  life 
in  Christ.     And  in  glowing  words  he  pictures  its  free- 
dom from  condemnation,  its  blessed  sonship  to  God,  its 
hope  of  future  glory,  and  its  present  help  from  the  Holy 
Spirit.    He  ends  with  a  triumphant  burst  of  praise  for 
the  certainty  that  nothing  henceforth  can  separate  him 
from  the  love  of  God  which  is  in  Christ  Jesus  (8 : 1-39). 
The  next  section  of  the  epistle  is  but  loosely  con- 
nected with  what  precedes  or  follows  it.    Jewish  Chris- 
tians were  beginning  to  realize  that  the  blessings  of  tHe 
Messianic  kingdom  would  go  to  the  Gentiles  and  not  to 
their  own  people,  who  were  increasingly  unresponsive 
to  the  gospel.     In  the  bitterness  of  their  regret  they 
accused  Paul  of  deserting  his  kinsmen, — "  a  renegade 
Jew,"  is  the  term  sometimes  applied  to  him  even  to-day. 
This  charge  he  repels,  asserting  in  the  strongest  terms 
his  love  for  his  nation  and  his  anguish  over  their  present 
attitude  toward  Christ   (9:1-5).     But  how  can  it  be 
that  God's  elect  people  are  not  to  have  the  kingdom 
which  He  had  surely  promised  them  from  the  days  of 
Abraham.     Is  God  faithless?     The  unbelieving  Jews 
would  put  this  question  as  an  argument  against  the 
truth  of  Paul's  teaching;  the  believers,  as  a  problem 
which  sorely  puzzled  them.     Paul  tries  to  answer  each 
in  turn.    Suppose,  as  the  Jews  assert,  that  God's  prom- 
ises are  absolute.     The  case  of  Isaac  proves  that  they 


PAUL'S  PREPARATION  FOR  SPAIN        215 

were  not  given  to  all  of  Abraliam's  seed,  and  the  case 
of  Jacob  that  they  were  not  given  according  to  merit 
(6-12).  God's  mercy  is  regulated  by  His  own  will, — 
so  the  Scriptures  declare  (14-18).  And  what  are  men, 
to  criticize  that  will  or  comprehend  the  high  purpose  of 
God!  (19-29).  Such  an  answer  may  silence  a  Jew, 
but  it  is  not  enough  for  the  Christian,  who  sees  in  God 
not  an  arbitrary  Oriental  despot  but  a  loving  Father, 
and  finds  with  each  of  His  promises  an  essential  condi- 
tion. To  him  Paul  says,  God  has  dealt  fairly  with 
Israel.  They  have  failed  to  gain  righteousness  because 
they  sought  it  by  the  Law  and  not  by  faith  in  Christ 
though  that  is  the  ready  way  and  they  had  abundant 
knowledge  given  them  (9:30-10:21).  But  God  has 
not  rejected  all  Israel ;  as  of  old,  so  now,  a  remnant  is 
saved  (11:1-10).  And  through  their  loss  has  come 
gain  to  the  Gentiles,  to  whom  their  fate  is  a  warning 
(11-24).  Moreover,  their  rejection  is  only  until  that 
time  when  the  Gentiles  shall  have  fully  come  into  the 
kingdom;  then  will  the  Jews  too  fijid  salvation.  Thus 
wonderful  and  past  human  wisdom  are  the  ways  of  God 
(25-36). 

The  doctrinal  portion  of  the  epistle  is  completed; 
and  now  Paul,  as  he  is  wont,  adds  a  practical  portion, 
urging  a  life  completely  dedicated  to  God  (12:1-2). 
He  repeats  briefly  the  advice  given  the  Corinthians 
about  the  use  of  spiritual  gifts  (3-8),  and  gives  a  series 
of  pithy  and  pregnant  precepts  about  character  and  con- 
duct (9-21).  Good  citizenship,  involving  obedience  to 
rulers  and  love  to  the  other  fellow,  is  enjoined 
(13:1-10)  with  constant  mindfulness  of  the  dawning 
day  when  Christ  shall  return  (11-14).  In  the  church 
as  in  every  group  of  men  there  are  always  two  parties, 
the  stoics  and  the  epicureans, — ^those  who  regard  all 


216  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

pleasure  with  suspicion,  and  those  who  are  indulgent 
towards  it;  and  for  the  two  to  understand  each  other 
or  to  live  in  harmony  is  difficult.  In  the  Corinthian 
church  the  division  had  shown  itself  concerning  meats 
offered  to  idols  (I  Cor.  8:  1  f.) ;  here  the  broader  mat- 
ter of  ascetic  and  ritualistic  observances  is  the  possible 
source  of  strife.  But  the  principles  to  be  applied  in 
preserving  peace  are  the  same.  Avoid  censoriousness 
(14:1-3);  recognize  the  right  of  personal  judgment 
and  accountability  to  God  alone  (4-12)  ;  and,  most  im- 
portant of  all,  ever  show  Christian  considerateness  and 
helpfulness  (13-23).  In  another  matter  also, — the  re- 
lations between  Jewish  Christians  and  Gentile, — this 
same  spirit  of  Christ  is  the  only  safeguard  against  un- 
fortunate dissensions  (15:  1-13).  With  some  words  of 
explanation  about  his  present  occupation  and  his  future 
plans  to  visit  Jerusalem  and  Rome,  the  apostle  ends  his 
letter  (14-33). 

When  Paul  had  spent  much  time  and  thought  upon 
an  epistle  dealing  with  matters  of  great  importance,  we 
would  expect  him  to  send  it  to  more  than  one  church. 
Probably  he  did  so  with  the  present  epistle.  The  chap- 
ter with  which  it  now  closes,  seems  to  have  been  a  spe- 
cial note  sent  with  it  to  Ephesus.  And  the  benediction 
(15:  13)  may  have  been  the  conclusion  of  another  copy 
given  to  the  church  at  Corinth,  which  would  not  need 
the  personal  explanations  that  follow.  The  magnificent 
doxology  (16:25-26)  is  a  fitting  close  to  every  copy; 
for  it  must  have  welled  from  Paul's  heart  when  his 
gTeat  work  was  completed. 

3.    The  Journey  to  Jerusalem. 

Paul  had  planned  to  sail  directly  from  Corinth  to 
Syria,  probably  aiming  to  reach  Jerusalem  in  time  for 


PAUL'S  PREPARATION  FOR  SPAIN        217 

the  Passover  of  56  a.d.     The  discovery  of  a  plot  laid 
against  him  by  the  Jews, — perhaps  to  murder  him  on 
his  ship  which  would  be  packed  with  pilgrims  to  the 
feast, — caused  him  to  change  his  route.     He  went  up 
into  Macedonia,  spent  the  Passover  week, — for  him  the 
solemn  Easter  season, — at  Philippi,   and  sailed  from 
there,  stopping  at  various  points  and  reaching  Jeru- 
salem before  Pentecost  (Acts  20:3  f.).     Luke  joined 
him  at  Philippi,  and  from  that  point  on  the  narrative 
in  Acts  is  very  full.    The  details  of  the  voyage  are  not 
important;  nor  are  we  concerned  to  determine  from  the 
somewhat  ambiguous  text  the  course  of  the  delegates 
before  they  were  all  assembled  at  Troas  to  accompany 
Paul  with  their  offerings  (20 :  4-5).    But  we  are  greatly 
interested  in  the  account  of  the  church  meeting  at  Troas 
on  the  first  day  of  the  week,  which  would  begin  by 
Jewish  reckoning  on  Saturday  evening  (20 :  7-12).  The 
gathering  at  night  because  the  slaves  and  servants  were 
not  free  to  come  by  day,  the  upper  room  so  crowded 
that  even  the  window-ledge  must  serve  as  a  seat,  the 
many  lights  brought  by  brethren  who  had  to  pick  their 
way  through  dark  streets  and  foul  alleys,  the  earnest 
farewell  speech  of  Paul,  the  lad  tired  from  the  day's 
toil  and  vainly  struggling  to  keep  awake,  the  midnight 
meal  and  sacrament,  the  further  talk  by  Paul  with  those 
who  could  remain  until  daybreak  when  he  must  begin 
his  journey  and  they,  their  daily  tasks, — it  is  the  clear- 
est picture  we  possess  of  a  church  gathering  in  apos- 
tolic days.     But  Luke  in  painting  it  thought  only  of 
the  miracle,  witnessed  by  himself,  that  Paul  wrought 
in  restoring  Eutychus   to  life,   after   the   manner  of 
Elijah  and  Elisha.     Had  the  incident  been  simply,  as 
some  maintain,  that  Paul  discovered  signs  of  life  in  the 


218  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

young  man  when  others  supposed  him  dead,  Luke 
would  hardly  have  thought  it  worth  reporting. 

Another  precious  message  is  the  account  of  Paul's 
meeting  with  the  Ephesian  elders  when,  not  daring  to 
visit  Ephesus  lest  he  he  detained  hy  friends  or  foes,  he 
summoned  them  to  Miletus  for  his  farewell.  It  gives 
the  only  example  of  his  speeches  to  his  churches,  and 
none  could  be  more  characteristic  or  touching.  We  have 
already  noted  the  light  this  address  throws  upon  his 
toils  and  sufferings  at  Ephesus ;  and  we  must  not  miss 
its  forecast  of  the  future  of  that  church  (20:29  f.). 
Already  Paul  perceived  the  stealthy  approach  of  here- 
sies such  as  he  assailed  in  his  later  letters ;  and  he  knew 
the  fickleness  of  the  Ephesians  (cf.  Hev.  2:4).  As  a 
matter  of  fact,  though  the  church  was  not  lost  to  Christ 
in  after  years,  it  transferred  its  allegiance  from  Paul 
to  other  leaders  (II  Tim.  1:  15).  In  the  address  are 
found,  also,  the  same  forebodings  concerning  what 
awaited  him  in  Jerusalem  that  he  had  expressed  in  his 
letter  to  the  Romans  (Rom.  15:31),  now  intensified 
by  the  recent  discovery  of  the  plot  of  the  Jews.  Over 
all  this  journey  there  lies  the  shadow  of  the  cross,  even 
as  over  the  last  journey  of  Jesus  to  Jerusalem ;  and  t£e 
hazard  of  the  visit  is  increasingly  emphasized  as  Paul 
goes  forward.  At  Tyre  the  disciples  warn  him  to  keep 
away  from  the  hostile  city  (Acts  21 :  4)  ;  and  at  Cae- 
sai-ea  the  prophet  Agabus  with  symbolic  act  declares 
that  the  Jews  will  bind  him  and  deliver  him  into  the 
hands  of  the  Gentiles  (21:11),  while  both  his  own 
companions  and  the  brethren  beg  him  with  tears  to  go 
no  further.  But  Paul  will  not  be  persuaded.  The  im- 
portance of  the  visit  seems  to  him  so  great  that  as  its 
price  he  is  willing  not  only  to  be  bound  but  even  to  die. 

Thus  "bound' in   the   spirit"    (Acts   20:22)    Paul 


PAUL'S  PREPARATION  FOR  SPAIN        219 

came  to  Jerusalem.  What  was  his  welcome?  Luke 
says,  "  The  brethren  received  us  gladly.''  How  could 
they  do  otherwise,  when  the  gifts  of  the  churches  were 
laid  before  them  ?  Such  generous  and  unexpected  relief 
would  fill  all  hearts  with  rejoicing.  The  revelation  of 
their  real  attitude  came  the  next  day  when  Paul  with 
his  Gentile  companions  appeared  before  James  and  the 
elders  to  tell  them  what  God  had  wrought  through  his 
ministry.  He  told  in  detail  the  story  of  his  work 
among  the  Gentiles ;  and  when  they  heard  it,  they  glori- 
fied God.  But  immediately  they  asked,  What  is  to  be 
done  about  the  report  that  you  are  no  longer  living  as 
a  Jew,  and  are  teaching  the  Jews  in  foreign  lands  to 
forsake  Moses?  The  brethren  here  will  hold  to  the 
agreement  about  your  Gentile  work ;  but  unless  they  are 
convinced  that  this  report  is  untrue,  their  zeal  for  the 
Law  will  make  them  turn  upon  you."  This  was  a  poser 
for  Paul,  since  there  was  a  certain  amount  of  truth  in 
the  report.  His  practice  had  been  to  live  as  a  Jew 
when  with  Jews  and  as  a  Gentile  when  with  Gentiles 
that  he  might  get  into  helpful  touch  with  each  (I  Cor. 
9 :  20  f.)  ;  and  while  he  had  laid  down  the  rule  that  a 
convert  should  not  seek  to  change  from  Jew  to  Gentile 
or  the  reverse  (Id.  7:  18),  unquestionably  his  insistence 
that  Jewish  observances  are  of  no  avail  in  gaining 
righteousness  was  an  encouragement  to  disregard  them. 
He  was  not  opposed  to  keeping  the  Law  as  a  method 
of  life ;  but  he  was  bound  to  denounce  it  as  a  means  of 
salvation.  The  Jerusalem  church  had  understood  and 
allowed  this  attitude  to  the  Law  when  Peter  had  stated 
it  at  the  council;  but  would  they  accept  it,  if  Paul 
should  state  it  now?  Unquestionably  they  had  been 
growing  more  narrow  and  Judaistic  as  the  years  went 
by.    The  departure  of  such  liberal  leaders  as  Barnabas, 


220  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

Mark,  Silas  and  Peter  would  hasten  the  process,  if  in- 
deed their  departure  had  not  been  hastened  by  it.  The 
Judaizers  who  dogged  Paul's  footsteps  and  strove  to 
win  away  his  converts  in  Galatia  and  elsewhere,  had 
their  headquarters  in  Jerusalem;  and  all  the  brethren 
there  were  now,  as  James  declared,  '^  zealous  for  the 
Law.''  Would  not  any  statement  by  Paul  simply  stir 
up  trouble  ?  The  leaders  seem  to  have  felt  so,  and  had 
planned  another  way  to  meet  the  difficult  situation.  An 
act  might  be  more  safe  and  efficacious  than  words.  Just 
now  four  impecunious  church  members  were  looking 
for  some  generous  friend  to  bear  for  them  the  heavy 
expense  of  sacrifices  connected  with  the  fulfilment  of 
vows  they  had  taken.  If  Paul  should  make  himself 
that  friend,  and  publicly  engage  with  them  in  the  rites 
of  purification  in  the  temple,  then  all  who  saw  or  heard 
would  be  convinced  that  he  still  was  a  loyal  son  of 
Israel.  To  this  he  made  no  objections:  if  they  desired 
it,  there  was  no  reason  why  he  should  not  do  it.  But 
as  he  consented,  must  he  not  have  felt  that  the  leaders 
themselves  should  have  defended  him  against  all  ac- 
cusations ?  Had  his  generous  advances  been  met  with 
the  friendliness  and  cooperation  they  deserved  ?  It  is 
hard  to  believe  that  either  James  or  the  elders  had  any 
real  sympathy  with  Paul  and  his  work.  We  note  that 
when,  a  few  days  later,  he  was  in  sore  trouble  through 
carrying  out  their  suggestion,  none  of  them  came  for- 
ward to  bear  testimony  in  his  behalf,  though  it  would 
have  helped  him  much.  And  as  for  the  majority  of  the 
Christians  in  Jerusalem,  we  suspect  that  they  were  by 
no  means  sorry  that  Paul  was  in  bonds  as  a  malefactor. 


XIII 
PAUL  A  PRISONER  OF  ROME 

THE  author  of  Acts  devotes  nearly  one-fourth  of 
his  book  to  the  period  in  Paul's  life  now  be- 
fore us, — a  period  of  less  than  five  years, 
during  which  the  apostle  was  perforce  largely  inactive, 
and  about  whose  activities  little  is  told  except  his 
speeches  of  defence.  Evidently  one  purpose  of  the  nar- 
rative,— ^perhaps  the  main  one, — is  to  show  that  each 
Roman  official  before  whom  Paul  was  brought,  recog- 
nized that  the  charges  against  him  were  false ;  and  this 
is  considered  so  important  as  to  justify  giving  much 
space  to  it.  Christian  readers  would  not  need  such 
proof  that  the  apostle  did  not  deserve  condemnation; 
therefore  we  conclude  that  Luke  had  in  mind  those  who 
were  hostile  to  Christianity,  and  framed  this  part  of 
his  narrative  as  a  defence  of  the  church  in  the  troubled 
days  when  he  wrote.  It  has  been  argued  that  the  same 
purpose  caused  him  to  close  his  book  without  stating 
that  Paul  at  the  end  of  two  years  imprisonment  in 
Rome  was  put  to  death.  But  would  such  silence  con- 
ceal the  fact?  And  if  an  opponent  of  Christianity 
could  point  out  that  the  final  court  of  appeal,  presum- 
ably after  a  full  and  fair  review  of  the  evidence,  put 
Paul  to  death,  would  not  Luke's  suppression  of  that 
fact  vitiate  his  whole  document  ?  But  if  Paul  was  ac- 
quitted, why  was  not  this  stated  as  the  crowning  event 
in  the  series  of  vindications  ?     Possibly  because  there 

were  many  other  things  to  be  stated  first,  and  the  papy- 

221 


222  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

rus  roll  had  reached  the  limit  of  convenient  size.  Pos- 
sibly because  Luke  wrote  before  the  final  trial  was  held ; 
in  which  case  his  full  presentation  of  the  former  trials 
would  be  with  the  hope  of  helping  Paul  in  the  present 
one.  Whichever  answer  we  adopt,  the  abrupt  close  of 
Acts  throws  no  light  upon  the  death  of  the  apostle. 

1.     In  Custody  of  Lysias. 

The  outer  court  of  the  temple  at  Jerusalem  was  open 
to  all  nationalities;  hence  its  name,  the  Court  of  the 
Gentiles,  l^ext  came  the  court  into  which  only  Jews 
might  enter,  but  women  as  well  as  men,  and  for  that 
reason  called  the  Court  of  the  Women.  At  each  en- 
trance to  it  stood  a  notice  forbidding  any  Gentile  to 
enter  imder  penalty  of  death.  In  this  court  was  a 
chamber  where  those  who  were  ending  the  Nazarite  vow 
shaved  their  heads ;  and  doubtless  it  was  here  that  cer- 
tain hostile  Jews  from  Asia  recognized  Paul.  They 
had  seen  him  previously  in  the  city  with  Trophimus 
whom  they  knew  to  be  a  Gentile;  and  they  jumped  to 
the  conclusion  that  the  four  men  now  with  him  were 
Gentiles  also  whom  he  had  brought  into  the  sacred 
court.  With  cries  of  horror  and  accusation  they  roused 
the  worshippers,  who  dragged  Paul  out  into  the  Court 
of  the  Gentiles  where  they  would  have  killed  him  had 
not  Lysias,  commander  of  the  Koman  cohort  which  was 
stationed  in  the  adjoining  castle  of  Antonia  for  police 
duty,  rushed  down  with  his  men  and  rescued  him.  As 
the  angry  mob  still  surged  and  howled  around  the  steps 
of  the  castle,  Paul  asked  permission  to  speak  to  them. 
His  address  is  the  first  of  three  in  his  ovm  defence,  each 
framed  for  a  special  audience  but  all  setting  forth  the 
fact  that  he  is  a  God-fearing,  law-abiding  Jew,  who  acts 
in  obedience  to  the  commands  of  Jesus  of  l^azareth 


PAUL  A  PRISONER  OF  ROME  223 

whom  he  and  those  of  "  the  Way  "  accept  as  Messiah. 
In  the  present  speech  the  emphasis  is  on  his  religious 
life.  With  much  tact,  e.g.,  identifying  the  rage  of  his 
foes  with  his  own  zeal  for  God,  he  describes  his  perse- 
cution of  the  Christians,  his  wonderful  conversion,  his 
desire  to  preach  in  Jerusalem,  and  the  command  of 
Christ  which  sent  him  forth  to  the  Gentiles.  The  mob 
listened,  silent  but  suspicious,  until  he  was  forced  to 
utter  the  hated  word  "  Gentiles ;"  whereupon  they 
broke  out  again  into  such  yells  and  tumult  that  Lysias 
took  Paul  away  into  the  castle.  There  he  started  to 
examine  him  under  the  lash  to  discover  what  he  had 
done  to  arouse  such  hostility.  Paul's  statement  that  he 
was  a  Roman  citizen  promptly  stopped  this  indignity, 
and  secured  him  henceforth  most  considerate  treatment. 
The  next  day  Lysias  undertook  to  find  out  by  the  aid 
of  the  Sanhedrin  what  was  Paul's  offence.  The  meet- 
ing of  that  body  held  at  his  request,  was  not  a  formal 
one — Paul  begins  his  address  with  the  informal 
"  Brethren ;"  and  probably  Lysias  himself  rather  than 
the  high-priest  presided  over  it.  Indeed,  the  familiar 
statement  that  the  high-priest  was  ex  officio  president 
of  the  Sanhedrin  is  questionable.  The  Jewish  rulers 
were  not  expected  to  try  and  sentence  Paul ;  the  chili- 
arch  could  not  thus  hand  over  his  prisoner,  a  Roman 
citizen,  to  them ;  but  he  wished  to  have  Paul  repeat  the 
remarkable  defence,  given  the  day  before,  and  to  learn 
what  they  thought  of  it.  They  knew  about  Paul,  of 
course;  yesterday's  riot,  if  nothing  else,  would  ensure 
that;  and  in  their  minds  he  stood  already  condemned. 
At  his  very  first  words  of  self-vindication  the  high- 
priest,  Ananias,  called  out  to  those  standing  near  him, 
"  Smite  him  on  the  mouth."  Fired  by  this  insult  Paul 
denounced  the  speaker  in  terms  so  bold  and  bitter  as 


224  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

to  call  forth  a  horrified  remonstrance  from  the  by- 
standers. But  when  he  learned  that  it  was  the  high- 
priest  he  was  condemning,  he  apologized, — the  office, 
if  not  the  man,  should  he  treated  with  reverence.  Pro- 
ceeding then  in  his  defence  Paul  had  to  tell  of  the 
resurrection  appearance  of  Jesus  to  him.  The  Sad- 
ducees  jeered  at  this,  as  they  always  did  when  belief 
in  a  resurrection  and  angels  and  spirits  was  presented, 
and  so  irritated  the  Pharisees  by  contempt  of  their 
favourite  doctrine  that  when  Paul  promptly  appealed 
to  the  latter  to  support  his  statement  as  not  incredible, 
they  responded.  It  was  an  old  battle-ground  between 
the  two  sects ;  and  the  fight  grew  hot,  proceeding  from 
words  to  blows,  until  Lysias,  in  fear  lest  his  prisoner 
might  be  torn  in  pieces,  carried  him  off  again  to  the 
castle.  Paul  has  sometimes  been  censured  as  using  a 
cunning  device  and  a  distorted  fact  to  save  himself  by 
setting  his  enemies  at  variance.  But  the  vision  of  his 
Lord  in  the  following  night  showed  divine  approval  of 
his  course;  and  the  words  of  cheer  then  spoken  were 
greatly  needed.  The  two  days  had  been  full  indeed  of 
stress  and  pain  for  body  and  soul. 

To  Lysias  his  prisoner  must  have  seemed,  in  modern 
phrase,  the  proverbial  match  in  a  powder  magazine; 
and  this  impression  was  increased  when  the  next  day 
PauFs  nephew  came  with  the  statement  that  a  plot  to 
assassinate  his  uncle  had  been  entered  into  by  more 
than  forty  Jews,  and  that  the  chief  priests  and  elders 
were  privy  to  it.  This  action  of  the  nephew  suggests 
that  Paul's  family  were  now  reconciled  to  him;  pos- 
sibly, too,  some  inheritance  or  family  funds  had  been 
received  by  him,  for  we  have  no  further  indication  that 
he  was  in  extreme  poverty  but  rather  the  reverse. 
Lysias  recognized  the  danger  of  keeping  Paul  in  Jeru- 


PAUL  A  I'RISONER  OF  ROME  225 

salem  among  foes  so  determined  to  kill  him.  He  him- 
self would  be  in  a  very  awkward  position  if  his 
prisoner,  a  Roman  citizen,  suffered  harm.  So  the  next 
night  he  ordered  a  large  guard  to  escort  Paul  to 
Caesarea  where  he  would  be  away  from  the  most  hos- 
tile Jews  and  directly  in  custody  of  the  procurator, 
Felix. 

2.     In  Custody  of  Felix. 

Felix  was  a  freedman ;  and  his  exaltation  to  the  high 
office  of  procurator  was  unprecedented.  Tacitus  says 
that  he  wielded  the  power  of  a  king  with  the  spirit  of 
a  slave;  and  no  historian  speaks  well  of  him.  His 
harsh  treatment  of  the  Jews  did  much  towards  rousing 
them  to  their  final  revolt,  and  brought  about  his  own 
removal  from  office.  Drusilla,  his  third  wife,  was  a 
daughter  of  Herod  Agrippa  I  and  a  sister  of  Herod 
Agrippa  II.  Like  most  of  the  Herodian  women  her 
character  was  dubious. 

Paul's  second  speech  in  self-defence  was  made  before 
Felix  when  the  Jews  with  a  professional  accuser  came 
down  to  Caesarea  to  lay  charges  against  him.  They 
alleged  that  he  stirred  up  insurrections,  belonged  to  a 
forbidden  sect,  and  had  profaned  the  temple.  In  reply 
he  denied  the  first  charge,  asserted  that  the  sect  of  the 
ItsTazarenes  was  not  under  the  ban,  and  demanded  to 
be  confronted  by  those  who  had  seen  him  in  the  temple. 
Felix,  though  ready  to  please  the  Jews,  did  not  dare 
to  condemn  a  Roman  citizen  on  charges  so  evidently 
baseless,  and  postponed  his  judgment  until  Lysias 
should  come, — a  sheer  evasion,  as  Lysias  had  already 
written  that  the  prisoner  was  innocent.  Evidently  the 
Jews  perceived  that  he  would  proceed  no  further,  and 
so  they  left  Paul  alone.     Presently  the  curiosity  of 


226  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

Drusilla  led  her  to  interview  Paul ;  but  instead  of  gain- 
ing an  interesting  account  of  his  wonderful  conversion 
and  exciting  adventures,  she  received  a  rebuke,  worthy 
of  John  the  Baptist,  for  her  desertion  of  her  husband 
for  Felix.  Her  resentment  and  the  expectation  of 
Felix  that  Paul  or  his  friends  would  presently  offer  a 
bribe  for  his  release,  held  the  apostle  in  prison  until 
Felix  was  recalled  to  Kome  after  two  years  when 
^'  desiring  to  gain  favour  with  the  Jews  "  who  were  his 
accusers,  he  left  Paul  still  in  bonds.  The  captivity 
was  light;  his  friends  could  visit  him,  and  doubtless 
he  kept  in  correspondence  with  his  churches,  though 
none  of  his  letters  have  been  presented.  But  the  period 
was  mainly  one  of  much  needed  rest  and  opportunity 
for  meditation;  and  his  later  letters  show  its  effect  in 
their  new  and  fuller  conception  of  Christian  truth. 
The  years  in  the  praetorium  of  Caesarea  were  like  the 
months  in  the  desert  of  Arabia,  a  period  of  spiritual 
education. 

3.     In  Custody  of  Festus. 

The  new  procurator,  Festus,  was  honest  and  well- 
meaning  but  unacquainted  with  Jewish  thought  and 
laws.  His  term  of  office  was  brief,  perhaps  two  years, 
and  ended  with  his  death.  If  we  knew  the  exact  date 
of  its  beginning,  this  would  help  us  greatly  in  the 
chronology  of  Paul's  life: — 58  a.d.  is  probable  but 
much  disputed.  When  he  came  to  Jerusalem  the  Jew- 
ish authority  made  an  insistent  and  clamourous  de- 
mand that  Paul  be  brought  up  from  Caesarea  for  sen- 
tence at  Jerusalem,  planning,  says  Luke,  to  kill  him 
on  the  way  (25:  1  f.),  and  thus  forestall  his  acquittal 
which  they  anticipated  would  come.  Festus  properly 
and  somewhat   disdainfully    (25:16)    denied  this  re- 


PAUL  A  PRISONER  OF  ROME  227 

quest,  but  offered  to  hear  any  influential  Jews  who 
would  go  down  to  Caesarea  and  testify  against  Paul. 
The  offer  was  accepted ;  and,  in  the  hearing  which  fol- 
lowed, the  old  charges  were  again  brought  forward  and 
again  refuted.  Festus  realized  that  the  real  provoca- 
tion was  Paul's  religion ;  and,  knowing  little  about  the 
sects  of  the  Jews,  he  was  disposed  to  send  the  prisoner 
to  the  Sanhedrin  for  trial.  But  Paul,  aware  of  the 
malignity  of  the  Jews,  stood  on  his  right  to  be  tried  in 
a  Roman  court  and,  to  ensure  this  beyond  possibility 
of  change,  appealed  to  Caesar.  The  step  was  a  most 
decisive  one.  It  took  the  matter  out  of  the  hands  of 
Festus;  it  transferred  the  trial  to  Rome;  and,  most 
important  of  all,  it  was  Paul's  final  break  with  his 
countrymen, — a  declaration  that  he  reckoned  himseff 
no  longer  a  Jew  and  subject  to  the  Sanhedrin.  Was 
the  appeal  a  mistake  ?  When  Agrippa  says,  "  This 
man  might  have  been  set  at  liberty  if  he  had  not  ap- 
pealed to  Caesar"  (26;  32),  it  seems  so.  But  Paul 
did  not  make  the  appeal  impulsively  or  ignorantly. 
He  had  reviewed  the  whole  situation  and  believed 
there  was  no  chance  of  liberty  in  Palestine.  A  hear- 
ing at  Rome  he  was  confident  would  set  him  free,  and 
then  he  would  be  thus  far  on  his  way  toward  Spain. 

Agrippa  II  was  a  son  of  Agrippa  I,  and  a  brother 
of  both  Drusilla  and  Bernice.  When  his  father  died 
in  44  A.D.,  he  was  thought  too  young  to  succeed  him; 
later  on  he  was  given  the  northern  part  of  the  paternal 
kingdom  with  his  capital  at  Caesarea  Philippi.  He 
was  also  made  custodian  of  the  temple  at  Jerusalem, 
having  power  to  appoint  the  high-priest.  For  a  Herod 
he  was  a  very  decent  ruler  and  laboured  to  preserve 
peace;  but  when  the  Jews  finally  revolted,  he  sided 
with  the  Romans.     Bernice,  or  Berenice,  was  in  char- 


228  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

acter  like  lier  sister.  There  were  scandals  about  her 
relations  with  her  brother,  and  later  on  she  was  the 
mistress  of  Titus  until  he  became  emperor.  When 
Agrippa  came  to  make  a  complimentary  visit  upon  the 
new  procurator,  Festus  took  the  opportunity  to  con- 
sult him  about  the  puzzling  case  of  the  prisoner  whom 
he  must  send  to  Rome;  and  Paul  was  brought  before 
them  to  tell  his  story.  His  address  to  the  two  rulers 
was  not  a  defence,  though  he  so  terms  it  (26:  2),  for 
he  was  not  on  trial  because  he  had  appealed  to  Caesar; 
it  was  simply  a  careful,  full  and  eloquent  account  of 
his  life  and  faith,  inspired  by  the  desire  to  win  them 
for  Christ.  Its  effect  was  according  to  the  character 
of  the  hearers.  Festus,  the  fair-minded,  rationalistic 
Roman,  unfamiliar  with  the  Jewish  religion,  was  im- 
pressed with  Paul's  sincerity,  but  explained  his  ear- 
nestness as  fanaticism,  and  his  remarkable  story  as  the 
figment  of  an  overtaxed  brain.  Agrippa,  the  frivolous, 
corrupt,  renegade  Jew,  listened  with  growing  uneasi- 
ness as  his  conscience  began  to  stir,  and  finally  turned 
Paul's  personal  appeal  aside  with  a  jest,  ^^  You  are 
going  to  make  me  into  a  Christian  in  a  hurry " 
(26:28).  But  both  rulers  agreed  that  this  man  had 
done  nothing  worthy  of  death  or  of  bonds. 

4.     In  Custody  of  Julius. 

Since  Paul  had  appealed  to  Caesar,  he  must  be  sent 
to  Rome  at  the  earliest  opportunity.  Julius,  the 
Roman  centurion  who  took  him  and  certain  other 
prisoners  in  charge  for  the  journey,  was  a  high-minded 
man  and  a  kindly  custodian.  We  gain  a  good  opinion 
of  centurions  from  him  and  the  other  three  mentioned 
in  the  New  Testament  (Luke  7:2;  23  :  47  ;  Acts  10 : 1). 
Luke   and  Aristarchus,  who  accompanied  Paul,  were 


PAUL  A  PRISONER  OF  ROME  229 

probably  counted  to  be  his  servants;  otherwise  they 
would  not  have  been  allowed  to  go  with  him.  A 
Roman  gentleman  in  Paul's  situation  would  be  per- 
mitted to  have  attendants.  He  seems  to  have  been  in 
ill  health  at  this  time  (Acts  27:3),  and  Luke  would 
be  his  physician,  while  Aristarchus,  a  Macedonian  Jew 
who  had  travelled  much  with  Paul  before  this  (Acts 
19:29;  20:4)  and  who  shared  his  Roman  imprison- 
ment later  (Col.  4:10),  would  be  nominally  his  valet. 

Luke's  log  of  the  voyage,  like  that  of  the  preceding 
one,  is  very  full.  He  was  a  Greek  and,  therefore,  fond 
of  the  sea.  It  has  been  pronounced  ^'  the  most  im- 
portant document  antiquity  has  left  for  an  understand- 
ing of  the  mode  of  working  an  ancient  ship ;  "  and  it 
ends  with  a  thrilling  picture  of  one  of  Paul's  "  perils 
in  the  sea," — ^not  as  thrilling,  however,  as  might  be 
that  of  one  of  his  earlier  and  unrecorded  shipwrecks 
when  for  a  night  and  a  day  he  was  in  the  deep  (II  Cor. 
11:  25).  In  the  whole  account  what  interests  us  most 
is  what  Luke  seems  to  have  taken  for  granted, — the 
way  in  which  Paul  speedily  becomes  the  leading  per- 
son on  the  ship.  Before  they  have  finished  their  disas- 
trous voyage,  the  centurion,  the  master  of  the  vessel, 
the  soldiers  and  the  sailors  have  learned  to  look  to  him 
for  counsel,  command  and  cheer.  The  little,  unpre- 
possessing Jewish  prisoner  is  recognized  to  be  greater 
than  all  his  companions.  It  is  the  power  of  a  strong 
and  Christian  personality. 

The  enforced  stay  of  three  winter  months  at  Malta, 
until  navigation  opened  in  the  spring  of  59  a.d.,  must 
have  been  spent  by  Paul  in  evangelism;  though  Luke 
tells  only  of  works  of  healing.  He  calls  the  people  of 
Malta  barbarians  because  they  were  not  Greeks  (cf. 
Rom.  1 :  14)  ;  but  we  are  not  to  think  of  them  as  sav- 


230  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

ages.  Their  culture  was  Phoenician,  and  Publius  was 
the  official  head  of  the  island.  From  Malta  to  Puteoli, 
a  great  commercial  port,  the  voyage  was  uneventful; 
and  from  that  city,  as  was  customary,  the  remaining 
journey  of  one  hundred  and  seventy  miles  was  made 
by  land.  The  sojourn  for  a  week  with  brethren  at 
Puteoli  refreshed  Paul's  spirit;  and  the  welcome  of 
other  brethren  from  Eome  who  came  to  meet  him  as 
far  as  the  Market  of  Appius  and  the  Three  Taverns, 
stations  on  the  Appian  Way  forty-three  and  thirty 
miles  south  of  the  city,  made  him  thank  God  and  take 
courage. 

5.     In  Custody  of  Nero. 

"  And  so  we  came  to  Rome,"  says  Luke, — not  at  all 
as  Paul  had  thought  to  come  when  he  wrote  to  the 
Romans,  or  even  when  he  appealed  to  Caesar.  He  was 
a  prisoner,  and  the  prospect  of  speedy  release  had  van- 
ished. The  report  of  Festus  concerning  him  had  doubt- 
less been  lost  in  the  shipwreck,  and  a  copy  of  it  must 
be  secured  from  Caesarea  before  anything  else.  That 
would  take  time.  Then  a  person  must  be  appointed 
as  Nero's  representative  to  look  into  the  case;  and  he 
would  probably  suit  his  own  convenience  about  doing 
it.  Then,  if  it  was  decided  that  the  report  of  Festus 
did  not  justify  a  release,  there  must  be  a  trial;  and 
for  this  the  Jewish  accusers  must  be  summoned  from 
Jerusalem.  Another  long  wait.  Years  might  go  by 
before  the  matter  was  ended.  So  Paul  settled  dovm 
to  use  the  time  as  profitably  as  possible.  His  imprison- 
ment was  light;  the  verbal  report  of  Lysias  ensured 
that.  He  was  allowed  to  occupy  hired  lodgings;  and 
though  the  soldier  who  guarded  him  was  linked  to  him 
by  a  light  chain  at  times  (Acts  28:20;  Eph.  6:20), 


PAUL  A  PRISONER  OF  ROME  231 

we  can  hardly  believe  that  he  was  always  treated  thus 
as  a  criminal.  The  guards,  when  they  grew  to  know 
him,  would  certainly  love  him  and  possibly  his  Lord, 
and  would  grant  him  every  permissible  liberty.  His 
friends  could  gather  in  his  room  to  hear  him  preach 
the  kingdom  of  God  and  teach  the  things  concerning 
the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  perhaps  he  might  with 
his  guard  attend  other  Christian  meetings  (Acts 
28:30  f.).  His  relations  with  the  Roman  Jews  are 
puzzling.  Three  days  after  his  arrival,  he  invited 
their  leaders  to  meet  him,  and  explained  his  situation 
(28:  17  f.).  Why  should  he  do  this?  And  they  de- 
clared that  they  had  heard  no  charge  against  him,  and 
knew  little  about  his  sect  except  that  it  was  everywhere 
denounced.  Was  this  ignorance  feigned  ?  If,  as  is 
generally  thought,  the  strife  that  led  Claudius  at  one 
time  to  expel  all  Jews  from  Rome  (18 :  2)  was  between 
those  who  were  Christians  and  those  who  were  not, 
these  men  must  have  known  about  Christianity  and 
doubtless  had  heard  about  Paul.  The  meeting  held 
with  them  a  little  later  (28:  23  f.)  is  evidently  a  sub- 
stitute for  the  usual  initial  work  in  the  synagogue  with 
which  Paul  was  accustomed  to  begin  his  labours  in  a 
new  city,  and  it  had  the  usual  results.  But  why  should 
Paul  or  Luke  apply  this  formula  of  work  to  Rome  ? 

Luke  sums  up  in  a  single  paragraph  two  years  of 
Paul's  life  in  Rome  (28:30-31).  It  is  his  practice 
to  give  such  a  summary  of  a  period  as  the  close  of  one 
section  of  his  history  before  beginning  another  section 
with  a  fuller  account  of  it,  e.g.,  he  closes  his  gospel 
with  a  brief  statement  of  the  ascension,  and  begins 
Acts  with  further  details  of  what  happened  during  the 
Forty  Days  (cf.  2:47;  11:26).  Had  he  written  his 
third  book,   he   would  have   told  us   about   those  two 


232  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

years.  But  now  all  we  know  is  the  few  facts  we  can 
glean  from  the  letters  Paul  wrote  in  his  Roman  prison. 
PauFs  old  friends  in  the  East  visited  him  frequently. 
It  was  easy  for  them  to  come  to  Rome;  for,  as  Ram- 
say says,  "  travelling  was  more  highly  developed,  and 
the  dividing  power  of  distance  was  weaker,  under  the 
Empire  than  at  any  time  before  or  since  until  we  come 
down  to  the  present  century."  Besides  Luke  and  Aris- 
tarchus  who  came  with  him,  we  find  Paul  companioned 
by  Tychicus,  Mark,  Timothy,  and  certain  others  whose 
names  are  not  mentioned  in  Acts.  Through  these  he 
kept  in  touch  with  his  absent  churches;  they  brought 
him  tidings  and  carried  back  messages  and  letters. 
The  inactivity  that  characterized  the  Caesarean  im- 
prisonment does  not  continue  into  the  Roman;  Paul  is 
in  bonds  but  the  word  of  God  is  not  bound,  and  he  is 
still  the  Lord's  ambassador.  His  relations  with  the 
Christians  of  Rome  are  not  clear.  They  met  him  with 
a  welcome;  but  his  letter  to  the  Philippians  implies 
that  he  is  lonely  and  in  want,  and  states  that  some  who 
were  preaching  Christ  did  it  of  envy  and  strife.  Evi- 
dently the  church  was  divided  about  him,  and  appar- 
ently he  received  little  attention  from  it. 


XIV 

THE  LETTERS  OF  PAUL  IK  PRISON 

BESIDES  the  letters  we  have  already  considered, 
the  New  Testament  contains  seven  others 
usually  ascribed  to  Paul.  Of  these  the  three 
to  Timothy  and  Titus  form  a  distinct  group  which 
must  be  treated  by  itself.  The  other  four  expressly 
state  that  they  were  written  by  Paul  in  bonds  (Phile. 
1 ;  Col.  4:3;  Eph.  3:1;  Phil.  1 :  13)  ;  but  from  what 
prison  ?  From  Caesarea,  say  a  few  scholars ;  from 
Rome,  say  many  and  the  early  traditions.  The  situa- 
tion described  in  them,  especially  in  Philippians,  suits 
Rome  better  than  Caesarea;  and  their  difference  in 
thought  and  tone  from  the  earlier  epistles  would  seem 
to  indicate  that  they  were  not  written  in  the  first  years 
of  imprisonment.  They  dwell  on  deeper  and  more 
speculative  truths;  they  glorify  the  person  rather  than 
the  work  of  Christ;  they  no  longer  put  the  coming  of 
the  Lord  in  the  foreground ;  and  they  sound  a  conserva- 
tive note, — hold  fast  to  the  old,  true  doctrine.  They 
are  distinguished  by  "a  more  uniform  tenderness,  a 
richer  fragrance  of  devotion,  and  a  quiet  insight  that 
reaches  to  the  depths  of  the  things  of  life  and  of  God," 
and  "  are  well  styled  the  afternoon  epistles,  as  the  writ- 
ings of  the  Judaic  controversy  are  the  noonday  epis- 
tles, of  Paul"  (Findlay).  There  has  been  a  change 
in  the  thought  of  the  writer,  partly  through  prolonged 
meditation  during  the  years  at  Caesarea,  partly 
through  the  influence  of  the  imperial  city  upon  his  con- 

233 


234  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

ception  of  Christ  and  the  church.  There  has  been  a 
change,  also,  in  the  churches  to  which  he  writes.  The 
old  battle  against  Judaizers  is  almost  ended,  and  with 
it  the  need  of  asserting  the  apostolic  authority  of  Paul. 
But  new  and  subtler  foe^  have  appeared,  and  the  gospel 
must  be  put  into  a  new  form  to  meet  them.  Moreover, 
the  Christians  to  whom  he  writes  are  no  longer  babes 
in  Christ;  and  he  can  give  them  instruction  suited  to 
their  maturer  stage. 

1.     The  Letter  to  Philemon. 

Onesimus  was  a  thieving  slave  who  had  run  away 
from  his  Christian  master,  Philemon,  in  Colosse  and 
gone  to  Eome, — the  refuge  of  scapegraces.  Here  in 
some  way  he  met  Paul,  and  was  converted  to  Christ; 
and  the  duty  was  laid  upon  him  to  return  to  his  master. 
It  was  not  an  easy  thing  to  do,  because  Philemon  had 
been  deeply  wronged  and  might  punish  him  cruelly : — 
angry  masters  often  put  their  slaves  to  death.  Paul 
never  had  been  in  Colosse ;  but  he  knew  Philemon,  in- 
deed seems  to  have  been  his  father  in  Christ;  so  he 
wrote  a  note  for  Onesimus  to  carry  back,  which  should 
gain  him  kindly  treatment.  It  is  the  only  one  pre- 
served, except  the  last  chapter  of  Eomans,  of  the  many 
notes  Paul  must  have  written;  and  it  makes  us  wish 
that  we  had  more.  Nothing  could  be  more  skilful  than 
the  way  in  which  he  deals  with  the  injured  and  irate 
slave-master,  urging  him  in  a  most  courteous  yet  com- 
pelling way  to  forgive  Onesimus  and  set  him  free.  It 
is  the  glove  of  velvet  and  the  grip  of  steel. 

Philemon  is  praised  for  his  love  to  all  saints,  which 
would,  of  course,  now  include  Onesimus  (4-7).  Paul 
is  going  to  ask  as  a  favour  to  himself  in  his  old  age  and 
imprisonment  something  which  he  might  impose  as  a 


THE  LETTERS  OF  PAUL  IN  PRISON      235 

command  (8-9).  The  favour  is  really  for  Onesimus 
(and  here  the  first  mention  of  the  hated  name  is 
softened  by  a  pun)  whom  Paul  sends  back,  though  he 
would  like  to  keep  him  as  a  loan  from  Philemon 
(10-14).  Perhaps  the  reason  why  he  "  was  parted  for 
a  season/'  was  that  Philemon  should  receive  him  as  a 
brother  dear  to  Paul  and  still  more  to  himself  (15-16). 
Now  comes,  not  a  request  but  a  direct  command  to  re- 
ceive him  or  else  forfeit  Paul's  fellowship  (17);  but 
it  is  softened  by  an  offer  to  repay  whatever  he  has 
stolen,  though  Philemon  is  reminded  how  he  himself 
owes  Paul  a  debt  that  money  cannot  pay  (18-20).  An 
earnest  appeal  to  rejoice  Paul's  heart  by  granting  the 
request  or  doing  even  more,  i.e.,  by  setting  Onesimus 
free  (20-21),  is  made  more  effective  by  the  statement 
that  Paul  hopes  presently  to  visit  Philemon,  when  of 
course,  he  will  know  what  treatment  the  slave  has  re- 
ceived (22).  And  the  closing  salutations  from  Paul's 
companions  are  an  unspoken  declaration  that  they,  too, 
are  deeply  interested  in  the  welfare  of  Onesimus.  Is 
there  any  doubt  that  Philemon  surrendered  to  such  an 
appeal?  How  could  he  withstand  its  courteous  yet 
compelling  words? 

This  little  note  brings  before  us  one  of  the  many 
problems  presented  to  Christianity  by  slavery.  Why 
does  not  Paul  say  frankly  that  slavery  is  contrary  to 
the  law  of  Christ,  and  insist  that  every  Christian  slave- 
holder should  set  his  slaves  free  ?  Think  what  the 
effect  would  have  been  in  all  the  later  ages  of  slave- 
holding,  if  there  had  been  a  square,  apostolic  command 
against  it.  But  would  that  command  ever  have  reached 
later  ages  ?  Remember  that  a  majority  of  the  popula- 
tion in  the  Roman  empire,  or  at  least  in  Italy,  were 
slaves ;  that  they  had  practically  no  protection  from  the 


336  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

passions  of  cruel  or  licentious  masters ;  that  often  they- 
were  of  the  same  race  ag  their  owners;  and  that  some 
Were  highly  educated.  Evidently  there  was  constant 
reason  to  fear  a  servile  insurrection  which  might  de- 
stroy the  whole  existing  civilization.  Italy  had  al- 
ready with  difficulty  crushed  out  one  such  insurrection, 
and  was  ever  on  guard  against  another.  For  Paul  to 
denounce  slavery  would  be  to  hurl  a  firebrand,  and 
might  not  only  cost  him  his  life  but  lead  to  the  ex- 
termination of  Christianity.  All  he  could  do  was  to 
preach  the  gospel  of  a  common  brotherhood  in  Christ 
Jesus;  and  this,  when  fully  grasped — how  slowly  men 
have  grasped  it! — would  make  slavery  impossible. 
Philemon  cannot  receive  Onesimus  as  ^'  a  brother  be- 
loved," and  treat  him  as  a  chattel.  To  the  Christian 
slaves,  who  formed  perhaps  the  majority  of  the  church, 
Paul  could  only  preach  patience : — they  must  abide  in 
their  condition,  comforting  themselves  with  the  knowl- 
edge that  they  were  the  Lord's  freedmen  (I  Cor. 
7:21).  But  even  thus  there  were  difficulties.  If  the 
slave  and  his  master  met  as  equals  in  the  church,  there 
was  danger  that  in  the  household  due  subordination 
and  obedience  might  be  refused.  Against  this  Paul 
warns  them  (I  Tim.  6:1-2).  And  if  the  master  was 
surly  and  failed  to  give  his  slave  fair  treatment,  the 
Christian  emphasis  of  justice  and  kindness  might  in- 
crease the  natural  resentment  of  the  sufferer.  This 
calls  forth  the  injunctions  to  household  servants  in  I 
Peter  2 :  18-25.  But  what  about  a  Christian  slave 
with  a  heathen  master?  Occasions  must  constantly 
have  arisen  when  he  would  be  ordered  to  take  part  in 
idol  worship  or  assist  in  heathen  practices;  could  ho 
obey  his  master  and  yet  be  true  to  his  Lord  ?  No  an- 
swer is  given  to  this  question;  yet  evidently  the  old 


THE  LETTERS  OF  PAUL  IN  PRISON      237 

problem  of  Naaman  in  the  house  of  Kimmon  (II 
Kings  5:18)  could  not  be  evaded.  And  how  should 
a  Christian  master  deal  with  the  heathen  practices  of 
slaves  who  were  not  Christian?  Should  he  forbid 
them  or  ignore  them?  To  this,  again,  we  have  no  an- 
swer. Slavery  and  Christianity  could  at  the  best  be 
but  unequally  yoked  together,  and  their  joint  progress 
was  a  tortuous  one. 

2.    The  Letter  to  the  Colossians. 

Colosse  was  a  city  in  the  valley  of  the  Maeander, 
four  or  five  days  distant  from  Ephesus.  Paul  had 
never  visited  it  (Col.  2:1),  though  some  of  its  citizens 
must  have  met  him  in  their  frequent  visits  to  Ephesus, 
its  metropolis.  There  was  a  church  there,  of  which 
Epaphras  was  a  member,  perhaps  the  founder  (Col. 
1:7);  and  it  met  in  the  house  of  Philemon,  who  was 
one  of  Paul's  converts  (Phile.  2,  19).  Epaphras  had 
come  to  Kome  and  told  Paul  about  a  heresy  that  was 
gaining  acceptance.  There  is  much  discussion  as  to  its 
exact  nature;  but  it  seems  to  have  been  some  form  of 
what  was  later  known  as  gnosticism,  together  with  a 
mixture  of  Jewish  ideas  such,  possibly,  as  were  held 
by  that  strange  Jewish  sect,  the  Essenes.  Thoughtful 
men  have  always  pondered  over  two  problems.  How 
could  a  purely  spiritual  God  create  a  universe  of  mat- 
ter? and,  How  could  a  supremely  good  God  create  or 
permit  evil?  These  are  problems  both  of  philosophy 
and  of  religion,  and  usually  go  together.  The  old  re- 
ligions of  the  East,  out  of  which  gnosticism  came, 
adopted  one  of  two  answers.  Zoroastrianism  said. 
Matter  and  evil  are  as  eternal  as  God  and  good;  from 
the  beginning  there  have  been  two  realms  confronting 
each   other   and   in   constant   warfare, — the   realm   of 


238  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

spirit,  light  and  good,  and  the  realm  of  matter,  dark- 
ness and  evil,  each  with  a  supreme  leader.  Brahman- 
ism  said,  Matter  and  evil  have  no  real  existence;  they 
are  simply  illusions  of  the  mind  from  which  perfect 
knowledge  frees  us.  Gnosticism,  which  took  its  name 
from  its  profession  to  know  these  mysteries,  leaned 
sometimes  to  the  one  answer  and  sometimes  to  the 
other.  It  framed  many  systems,  but  always  taught 
that  matter  and  evil  are  connected,  and  that  God  has 
nothing  to  do  directly  with  either, — He  dwells  far 
apart  from  the  sinful  world.  To  bridge  the  wide  abyss 
between  God  and  man,  a  senes  of  intermediate  agents 
was  imagined.  From  God,  in  whom  is  all  "  fulness,'' 
emanates  a  being  less  spiritual,  holy  and  powerful  than 
Himself;  and  from  this  emanation  another  still  less  so, 
until  the  last  one  in  the  series  is  so  reduced  in  divine 
qualities  as  to  be  able  to  come  in  contact  with  the  world 
of  sin  and  matter.  Whether  the  world  was  created  by 
this  last  emanation  or  by  an  evil  spirit,  would  be  an- 
swered according  as  the  gnostic  system  inclined  to  il- 
lusion or  to  dualism.  Gnosticism,  if  it  recognized 
Christianity,  would  hold  that  Christ  was  one  of  these 
emanations,  a  spiritual  being  who  either  merely  seemed 
to  have  a  material  body  or  else  joined  Himself  to  the 
man  Jesus  at  the  baptism  and  left  him  again  at  Cal- 
vary. His  work  would  be  to  redeem  men  from  the 
bondage  of  sinful  matter  by  teaching  the  nature  of  sin 
and  matter  to  a  select  few  who  in  turn  would  teach 
others  able  to  receive  such  knowledge.  If  the  gnostic 
scheme  held  that  matter  and  evil  are  illusions,  then  a 
holy  life  would  be  consistent  with  the  grossest  sensual- 
ity and  self-indulgence;  if  the  opposite  scheme  ob- 
tained, then  holiness  would  involve  severest  asceticism 
and  separation  from  the  world.      Simon  Magus  was 


THE  LETTERS  OF  PAUL  IN  PRISON      239 

claimed  bj  some  of  the  later  gnostics  as  one  of  their 
number;  writings  professedly  by  him  are  quoted,  and 
many  of  their  doctrines  ascribed  to  him. 

The  gnostic  type  of  thought  was  congenial  to  the 
people  of  Asia  Minor,  especially  of  ancient  Phrygia  in 
which  Colosse  stood.  ^^  Cosmological  speculations, 
mystic  theosophy,  religious  fanaticism,  all  had  their 
home  there"  (Lightfoot).  Paul's  note  to  Ephesus 
(Rom.  16: 17-20)  and  still  more  clearly  his  address  at 
Miletus  (Acts  20:29-30)  show  that  he  was  appre- 
hensive of  some  such  heresy.  The  exact  form  which 
this  teaching  had  taken  at  Colosse  we  can  only  infer 
from  the  letter  he  wrote  the  Colossians  and  sent  to  them 
by  Tychicus  who  was  going  to  Asia  with  Onesimus 
(Col.  4:7-9).  Probably  the  statement  of  it  which 
Epaphras  gave  him  was  very  incomplete,  and  much 
of  what  he  wrote  was  in  refutation  of  what  he  feared 
might  be  taught.  What  he  specially  strives  to  impress 
upon  his  readers  is  the  completeness  of  the  gospel  they 
have  already  received,  so  that  no  professedly  supple- 
mentary or  improved  teachings  shall  be  added  to  it, 
and  the  sufficiency  of  Christ  in  all  things,  doing  away 
with  all  need  of  the  gnostic  mediators  and  spiritual 
rulers.  "  Christ  is  all  and  in  all :  in  Him  dwelleth  all 
the  fulness  of  the  Godhead  bodily,  and  in  Him  ye  are 
made  full''  (3:11;  2:9-10). 

After  a  salutation  in  which  Timothy — who  had 
probably  visited  Colosse  (cf.  Phile.  1) — is  joined 
(1:  1-2),  and  a  thanksgiving  for  the  present  condition 
of  the  church  (3-8),  followed  by  an  avowal  of  his  pray- 
ers for  its  future  progress  (9-14),  Paul  passes  without 
a  break  to  set  forth  the  Christian  doctrines  that  are 
contrary  to  the  heresy.  Eirst  is  the  paramountcy  of 
Christ,  as  opposed  to  the  gnostic  doctrine  that  He  is 


240  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

but  one  in  a  graded  realm  of  higher  beings  (15-19). 
In  relation  to  God,  Christ  is  His  image  (15a)  ;  in  rela- 
tion to  the  universe,  including  all  the  gnostic  higher 
beings  (if,  indeed,  they  exist),  He  is  its  source  and 
reason  of  existence  (15b-l7)  ;  in  relation  to  the  church, 
He  is  its  head  and  beginning  (18).  Thus  all  ''the 
fulness"  (probably  a  favourite  term  of  the  gnostics) 
is  in  Him  (19).  Next  is  the  sole  activity  of  Christ 
in  the  work  of  reconciliation,  by  way  of  contrast  to  the 
gnostic  schemes  of  mediation  and  redemption  (1:20- 
2:7).  Wherever,  on  earth  or  elsewhere,  there  is  recon- 
ciliation, He  is  its  agent  (20).  And  in  particular  the 
Colossians  have  been  reconciled  solely  through  faith  in 
Him  (22-23)  because  whatever  Paul  himself  had 
gladly  suffered  for  them  or  taught  to  them  was  really 
by  Christ  in  him  (24-29),  and  the  great  aim  of  it  all 
was  that  they  might  know  Christ  in  whom  is  all  wis- 
dom and  knowledge,  and  might  live  accordingly 
(2:1-7). 

The  way  has  now  been  prepared  for  a  direct  injunc- 
tion against  any  teacher  who  puts  Christ  aside.  Am- 
bitious as  may  be  his  "  philosophy,''  it  is  really  child- 
ish prattle  (2:8).  All  that  he  offers  for  spiritual 
needs  is  found  in  Christ, — fulness,  true  circumcision, 
spiritual  life,  forgiveness  and  dominion  (9-15).  As 
for  his  rules  concerning  foods  and  sacred  days,  they 
are  w^orthless, — a  shadow  instead  of  the  reality  in 
Christ  (16-17);  and  the  whole  gnostic  scheme  debars 
from  Christ  and  His  reward  (18-19).  Asceticism  is 
not  spiritual,  and  has  no  real  force  in  fighting  fleshly 
lusts  (20-23).  The  life  hid  with  Christ  in  God,  and 
the  mind  set  upon  the  things  of  Christ,  are  the  true 
means  of  holiness  (3:  1-4).  The  old  foul  life  is  to  be 
put  away,  not  by  denial  but  by  death  of  self;  and  the 


THE  LETTERS  OF  PAUL  IN  PRISON      241 

new  life  in  Christ  must  be  kept  free  from  every  form 
of  sin  by  all  alike,  no  matter  what  the  former  race, 
religion,  culture  or  condition, — these  disappear  when 
Christ  is  all  and  in  all  (5-11).  In  place  of  ascetic 
ordinances  Paul  gives  a  series  of  Christian  rules  for 
individual  life  (12-17),  for  family  life, — the  case  of 
Onesimus  causing  special  stress  to  be  laid  on  servants 
and  masters  (3:18-4:1),  and  for  prayer  and  social 
life  (2-6).  Those  who  wish  to  learn  about  his  own 
affairs  are  referred  to  Tychicus  and  Onesimus  (7-9), 
and  the  epistle  closes  with  a  series  of  salutations  from 
the  group  of  friends  and  fellow-workers  who  are  gath- 
ered around  Paul  in  his  prison  (10-18). 

This,  then,  is  Paul's  answer  to  the  gnostics.  The 
mystery  of  Christ,  now  clearly  revealed  and  openly 
proclaimed  to  every  man  (1:23-28),  is  incomparably 
better  than  the  esoteric  mysteries,  a  knowledge  of 
which  fills  the  favoured  few  with  conceit  and  is  sup- 
posed to  make  them  perfect.  The  fulness  of  Christ  as 
regards  both  creation  and  redemption  does  away  with 
all  need  of  a  host  of  intermediaries  between  God  and 
the  world  or  man.  The  life  in  Christ  gives  a  victory 
over  sensuality  and  sin,  impossible  to  be  gained  by 
asceticism  or  ritual.  And  the  deepest  problems  of 
philosophy  are  solved  when  Christ  is  recognized ;  since 
all  the  seeming  discord  of  the  universe  finds  harmony 
in  Him,  and  the  process  of  the  ages  is  the  onward 
march  of  His  Kingdom.  ''  In  Him  "  is  the  keyword 
of  the  epistle,  repeated  again  and  again  like  the  the- 
m.atic  phrase  of  a  symphony. 

3.     The  Letter  to  the  Ephesians. 
In  his  letter  to  the   Colossians    (4:16)    Paul  bids 
them  get  a  letter  from  the  neighbouring  city  of  Laod- 


242  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

icea  and  read  it.  "What  was  that  letter?  Marcion, 
an  early  writer,  calls  our  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians  the 
Epistle  to  the  Laodiceans.  Probably  it  was  written  to 
them,  though  not  to  them  alone.  The  only  indication 
of  its  destination  is  the  words  "  at  Ephesus  "  of  the 
opening  verse;  and  two  of  the  oldest  and  best  manu- 
scripts have  a  blank  instead  of  these  words,  as  if  the 
destination  were  to  be  filled  in  later.  These  facts  and 
the  character  of  the  letter  lead  to  the  conclusion  that 
Ephesians  was  written  to  the  group  of  churches  headed 
by  Ephesus,  and  the  bearer  was  to  insert  the  name  of 
each  particular  church  to  which  he  gave  a  copy  of  it. 
What  called  it  forth  can  easily  be  conjectured.  The 
report  that  heresy  had  appeared  at  Colosse  would  make 
Paul  anxious  about  his  other  Asian  churches: — ^were 
they,  too,  infected  with  this  subtle  and  seductive  false 
doctrine?  Possibly  Epaphras  had  brought  some  word 
about  their  condition ;  for  he  would  sail  for  Eome  from 
Ephesus,  and  would  know  about  that  church  and  its 
neighbours.  And  certainly  Paul  would  leave  nothing 
undone  that  might  safeguard  his  beloved  converts.  We 
may  suppose,  therefore,  that  after  finishing  his  letter 
to  the  Colossians,  he  wrote  a  general  letter  to  the  other 
churches,  and  gave  Tychicus  copies  of  it  to  distribute 
as  he  journeyed  to  Colosse  with  Onesimus.  This  sec- 
ond letter  in  many  ways  resembles  Colossians  but  by 
no  means  merely  reproduces  it.  The  doctrinal  part  is 
not  so  directly  aimed  against  the  heresy,  since  Paul 
knows  less  the  form  it  takes  in  these  churches  and  the 
extent  to  which  it  has  spread.  What  he  aims  to  do  is 
to  set  forth  certain  great  truths  that  may  counteract 
it.  '^  Ephesians  has  a  broader  point  of  view  than 
Colossians.  The  Colossian  perversion  of  the  gospel 
serves  in  Ephesians  only  as  a  point  of  departure  for  a 


THE  LETTERS  OF  PAUL  IN  PRISON      243 

general  warning  against  any  teaching  which  does  not 
recognize  the  supreme  majesty  of  Christ.  Contro- 
versies and  false  doctrines  are  almost  forgotten  as  Paul 
unfolds  the  eternal  plan  of  God  through  all  the  ages 
to  consummate  all  things  in  Christ ''  (B.  W.  Robin- 
son). The  practical  commands  are  against  licentious- 
ness rather  than  asceticism ;  because  the  more  seductive 
and  prevalent  form  of  the  gnostic  heresy  would  be  that 
which  granted  full  license  to  indulgence  of  fleshly  ap- 
petites as  being  mere  illusion. 

Ephesians  opens  with  praise  to  God  for  all  the 
blessings  He  has  granted  the  writer  and  the  readers. 
The  list  of  what  God  has  freely  bestowed  is  a  long  and 
wonderful  one ;  and  the  fact  that  they  are  all  in  Christ 
is  emphasized  again  and  again  (1:  3-14).  This  is  fol- 
lowed by  the  prayer  that  God  would  give  the  readers 
a  knowledge  of  Himself,  both  as  to  the  hope  of  His 
calling  and  the  glorious  riches  of  His  inheritance  and 
the  greatness  of  His  power  shown  already  in  the  resur- 
rection and  exaltation  of  Christ  who  is  head  over  all 
things  to  the  church,  His  body  (15-23).  The  state- 
ment of  what  they  and  Paul  himself  once  were — dead 
in  sins  and  children  of  wrath  by  nature  (2:1-3),  is 
left  a  broken  sentence  as  the  apostle  hastens  to  cele- 
brate the  love  of  God,  through  which  they  now  share 
Christ's  life  and  enthronement  in  ''  the  heavenlies  "  in 
order  that  the  exceeding  riches  of  His  grace  may  be 
manifest  in  the  ages  to  come  (4-10).  Since  the  church 
is  a  body  of  which  Christ  is  the  head,  or  a  temple  of 
which  He  is  the  chief  corner-stone,  the  Jews  and  Gen- 
tiles who  belong  to  it  are  no  longer  separated  and  at 
strife ;  peace  and  union  have  taken  the  place  of  enmity 
and  division  (11-22).  Paul's  part  in  this  dispensation 
of  grace  has  been  to  receive  with  others  a  revelation 


244'  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

of  the  mystery  of  the  fellowship  of  the  Gentiles,  to 
preach  to  them  the  unsearchable  riches  of  Christ,  and 
to  make  manifest  to  all  men  that  which  interests  even 
heavenly  beholders, — the  manifold  wisdom  of  God 
shown  in  His  eternal  purpose  in  Christ  Jesus 
(3: 1-13).  With  a  second  prayer,  brief  but  most  com- 
prehensive, for  the  readers,  and  a  doxology  (14-21), 
the  doctrinal  part  of  the  letter  closes. 

The  practical  teachings  begin  with  an  exhortation  to 
live  worthily  of  the  Christian  calling,  exerting  them- 
selves to  keep  the  unity  of  the  Spirit  (4:  1-3).  There 
must  be  such  unity,  for  the  church  is  one  in  all  the 
great  fundamentals  (4-6)  ;  and  the  different  offices  and 
gifts  of  its  members  are  for  the  perfecting  of  the  saints 
and  the  building  up  of  the  one  body  of  Christ  until  it 
shall  attain  the  measure  of  a  full-grown  man  and  ex- 
press the  fulness  of  Him  who  is  its  Head  (7-16).  The 
old  man,  the  Gentile  darkness  and  lust,  must  be  put 
off,  and  the  new  man  created  by  God  in  righteousness 
and  truth,  must  be  put  on  (17-24).  The  sins  to  be 
cast  off,  and  the  mode  of  life  by  which  God  in  Christ 
is  to  be  imitated,  are  set  forth  in  some  detail  (4:25- 
5:2)  with  a  special  w^arning  against  impurity  and 
against  any  teacher  who  might  represent  such  things 
of  shame  and  darkness  to  be  of  no  moral  quality 
(5:3-14).  A  Christian  must  live  with  true  wisdom, 
sober  enthusiasm  and  proper  subordination  (15-21). 
In  accepting  this  subordination  wives  are  to  be  in  sub- 
jection to  their  husbands,  yet  the  husband  is  to  love 
his  wife  even  as  himself,  Christ's  love  for  the  church 
being  the  example  (22-33)  ;  children  are  to  obey  their 
parents,  yet  parents  are  not  to  provoke  but  to  nurture 
them  (6:  1-4)  ;  and  slaves  are  to  render  service  to  their 
masters  as  unto  Christ,  while  the  master  likewise  is  to 


THE  LETTERS  OF  PAUL  IN  PRISON      245 

bear  Christ  in  mind  in  all  his  treatment  of  them 
(5-9).  Finally,  all  are  to  arm  themselves  with  the 
panoply  of  God  for  the  fight  against  the  spiritual 
forces  of  wickedness  (10-17),  remembering  to  pray  for 
all  saints  including  Paul  himself  who  for  the  gospel 
is  an  ambassador  in  a  chain  (18-20).  Tychicus  is  sent 
to  tell  them  how  the  apostle  fares  and  to  strengthen 
their  hearts  (21-22).  Peace  and  grace  be  with  all  the 
brethren   (23-24). 

The  authenticity  of  both  Colossians  and  Ephesians 
has  been  disputed,  because  they  differ  so  much  from 
Paul's  earlier  epistles;  but  the  difference  is  easily  ex- 
plained by  the  natural  changes  in  the  writer,  the 
churches  and  the  foes  that  assailed  them  as  the  years 
went  by.  Other  critics,  accepting  Colossians  as  gen- 
uine, reject  Ephesians  because  of  its  unlikeness  to  its 
companion;  but  had  the  two  epistles  been  strongly 
alike,  would  not  that  fact  have  been  used  as  a  proof 
that  Ephesians  is  merely  an  imitation  of  Colossians  by 
some  forger? 

4.     The  Letter  to  the  Philippians. 

The  three  letters  we  have  just  considered  were  sent 
at  the  same  time.  Was  the  letter  to  the  Philippians 
an  earlier  or  a  later  production?  Scholars  do  not 
agi'ee,  but  a  later  date  seems  probable.  The  long  stay 
in  hired  lodgings  at  Rome  would  deplete  Paul's  funds ; 
the  Philippians  feared  this,  and  sent  a  supply  by  Epa- 
phroditus  (Phil.  4:  18).  He  found  that  all  of  Paul's 
old  companions  except  Timothy  were  away  (2: 19  f.)  ; 
so  he  remained  to  render  service,  and  presently  he  fell 
gravely  ill.  His  friends  in  Philippi  learned  of  his  ill- 
ness, and  were  much  distressed;  and  he  in  turn  was 
sorely  troubled  when  the  news  of  their  distress  reached 


246  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

him  (2:25-30).  All  this  would  take  time.  More- 
over, the  letter  indicates,  as  the  others  did  not,  that 
PauFs  case  had  already  been  given  a  hearing,  espe- 
cially if  we  understand  with  Ramsay  "  the  Prae- 
torium"  (1:  13)  to  be  the  court  which  would  try  him. 
When  he  wrote  he  was  waiting  to  see  what  the  verdict 
would  be  (2:  23).  He  had  hoped  for  a  prompt  release 
as  soon  as  he  could  gain  a  hearing ;  and  this  unexpected 
and  discouraging  delay  fills  him  with  grave  apprehen- 
sions. He  faces  the  possibility  of  death  instead  of 
liberty;  and  though  he  has  by  no  means  lost  hope,  he 
is  ready  to  accept  with  joy  whichever  issue  God  may 
give,  and  would  have  his  friends  do  the  same  (1 :  21  f. ; 
2:17;  4:4).  He  rejoices  already  in  the  assurance 
that  the  course  of  the  trial  thus  far, — "  the  things  that 
have  happened  unto  me''  (1:12) — has  helped  spread 
the  gospel.  In  making  his  defence  he  has  had  an  op- 
portunity to  proclaim  himself  as  Christ's  prisoner  be- 
fore the  whole  court;  and  his  courage  as  a  preacher  in 
bonds  has  made  others  more  bold  to  preach, — some,  in- 
deed, with  aspersions  of  Paul,  but  all  preaching  Christ 
(1:  13-18).  And  his  trust  is  that  with  all  boldness,  as 
always  so  now  also,  Chri^  shall  be  magnified  in  his 
person  whether  by  life  or  by  death  (1:  20). 

The  opportunity  to  send  the  Philippians  a  letter 
came  with  the  return  of  Epaphroditus  home.  He 
could  do  little  for  the  apostle  now  that  the  trial  had 
brought  close  confinement,  and  he  longed  after  those 
who  were  troubled  about  him.  Probably  Paul  had  al- 
ready sent  his  thanks  for  the  gift  (Polycarp  speaks  of 
the  letters  of  Paul  to  the  Philippians),  but  he  would 
again  express  his  pleasure  and  gratitude.  His  main 
purpose  in  writing,  however,  is  to  bid  them  to  rejoice 
over    the    tidings    Epaphroditus    would    bring,    grave 


THE  LETTERS  OF  PAUL  IN  PRISON      247 

though  thej  might  seem  to  be.  He  would  have  them 
know  that  his  own  heart  is  strong  and  joyful,  and 
theirs  should  be  the  same.  Conscious  that  this  may  be 
his  last  message  to  a  church  with  whom  his  relations 
have  ever  been  most  intimate  and  affectionate,  he  takes 
the  opportunity  to  rebuke  a  spirit  of  self-assertion  that 
is  causing  dissension  (1:27;  2:1-10;  4:2),  and  to 
warn  them  against  certain  Judaizers  and  sensualists 
(3:  1-4:  1).  The  letter  is  the  most  tender  and  touch- 
ing of  all  that  we  have  of  his ;  and  Lightfoot  well  pro- 
nounces it  ^'  the  noblest  reflection  of  Saint  Paul's  per- 
sonal character  and  spiritual  illumination,  his  large 
symj)athies,  his  womanly  tenderness,  his  delicate 
courtesy." 

Philippians  is  as  impossible  of  analysis  as  a  love- 
letter.  The  noblest  passage  in  it  (2:1-10)  has  been 
grievously  abused  by  being  considered  a  dry,  precise 
statement  of  the  doctrine  of  the  incarnation  with  each 
word  weighed  and  safeguarded  as  in  the  clauses  of  a 
creed;  whereas  it  really  is  a  wonderful  picture  of  the 
mind,  of  Christ,  painted  with  a  few  bold  strokes  and 
held  before  those  who  are  minded  to  faction  and  vain 
glory.  Another  gTaphic  picture,  which  he  paints  to 
warn  them  against  the  wiles  of  the  Judaizers,  is  the 
contrast  between  his  own  old,  proud,  self-righteous 
Pharisaic  life,  magnificent  but  worthless,  and  his 
present  humble,  self-forgetful,  earnest  endeavour  to 
gain  Christ  and  the  righteousness  that  is  through  faith 
in  Him  (3:2-15). 


XV 
THE  PASSI:N^G  of  PAUL 

WE  come  now  to  the  most  uncertain  and  dis- 
puted portion  of  Paulas  history.  The  clos- 
ing statement  of  Acts  warrants  the  conclu- 
sion that  his  imprisonment  ended  after  two  years  (61 
A.D.)  ;  but  did  it  end  in  death  or  in  release?  And  if 
he  was  set  at  liberty,  did  he  go  to  Spain,  as  he  had  so 
long  planned,  or  back  to  his  churches  in  the  East,  as 
his  prison  letters  promise?  And  when  and  where  and 
how  did  he  depart  to  be  with  Christ?  Luke  never 
wrote  his  third  book;  so  contemporary  history  is  silent 
about  Paul's  passing.  But  an  almost  contemporary 
writer  was  Clement  of  Rome ;  and  he  says  of  Paul  that 
"  having  taught  righteousness  to  the  whole  world,  and 
having  come  to  the  limit  of  the  West,  and  having  borne 
testimony  before  the  rulers,  he  departed  thus  from  the 
world."  This  seems  to  be  a  trustworthy  statement  that 
Paul  did  go  to  Spain,  which  could  not  have  been  un- 
less he  was  released.  To  be  sure,  some  scholars  under- 
stand "  the  limit  of  the  West "  to  mean  Rome ;  but 
Clement  could  hardly  use  such  a  phrase  to  describe 
Rome  when  he  was  writing  in  that  city.  Statements 
by  second  century  writers  that  Paul  went  to  Spain  are 
of  less  value  because  they  may  have  been  based  wholly 
upon  his  expressed  intention  of  going  there.  The 
probability  that  he  would  be  released,  and  also  the  ex- 
pectation of  release  revealed  in  his  letter  to  the  Philip- 
pians,  are  magnified  by  those  who  affirm  the  release 
and  minimized  by  those  who  deny  it.     Paul  certainly 

248 


THE  PASSING  OF  PAUL  249 

expected  release  when  he  made  his  appeal  to  Caesar; 
and  nothing  that  we  know  of  changed  the  situation 
later.  The  charges  against  him  were  Jewish,  not  of 
importance  in  Rome,  and  he  had  the  advantage  of 
heing  a  Roman  citizen.  However,  the  whole  question 
of  his  release  would  be  one  of  mere  curiosity,  hardly 
worth  discussion,  were  not  the  authorship  of  the  Pas- 
toral Epistles  involved.  Their  claim  to  be  by  Paul  can 
hardly  be  defended,  as  we  shall  see,  unless  his  release 
from  the  Roman  imprisonment  is  granted.  At  the 
same  time  we  must  recognize  that  their  authenticity 
is  not  established,  if  his  release  is  accepted  as  a  fact. 
Some  other  Christian  writer  may  have  felt  that  their 
messages  were  what  Paul  would  have  sanctioned,  and 
in  later  days  have  put  them  forth  in  Paul's  name. 
Such  assignment  of  a  writing  to  an  earlier  author  was 
not  unusual,  and  was  not  considered  dishonest. 

1.    The  Problems  of  the  Pastorals. 

The  letters  to  Timothy  and  Titus  are  known  as  the 
Pastoral  Epistles  because  they  were  addressed  to  men 
in  charge  of  churches,  and  contain  instructions  suited 
to  pastoral  work.  The  three  letters  form  a  group  by 
themselves,  and  in  many  ways  are  so  distinct  from  the 
Pauline  epistles  already  considered  that  their  author- 
ship by  Paul  has  been  greatly  doubted  or  strongly  de- 
nied. The  external  evidence  for  it,  i.e.,  the  indications 
that  very  early  writers  regarded  the  letters  as  genuine, 
is  nearly  as  strong  as  for  the  undisputed  letters.  To 
be  sure,  Marcion,  about  the  middle  of  the  second  cen- 
tury, omitted  the  Pastoral  Epistles  from  his  list  of 
PauFs  epistles;  but  he  dealt  with  all  the  New  Testa- 
ment writings  to  suit  his  heretical  views.  The  internal 
evidence,  i.e.,  what  is  found  in  the  epistles  themselves, 


250  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

is  confusing  and  conflicting.  Though  they  claim  to  be 
by  Paul,  and  contain  much  that  seems  Pauline,  they 
have  also  much  that  is  unlike  what  we  find  in  the  un- 
disputed letters  of  Paul,  and  they  reveal  conditions  in 
the  church  too  far  advanced  apparently  for  the  days  of 
Paul.  Volumes  have  been  written  for  and  against 
their  authorship ;  and  the  discussion  still  goes  on.  The 
four  leading  opinions  and  the  main  arguments  con- 
cerning each,  may  be  briefly  summed  up  as  follows : 

1.  The  epistles  are  wholly  spurious,  and  much  later 
than  the  time  of  Paul.  Several  proofs  of  this  are 
brought  forward,  (a.)  In  vocabulary  and  style  they 
are  unPauline: — we  miss  the  nervous  force,  the  com- 
pact thought,  the  rush  of  argument  and  impetuous  di- 
gressions, that  characterize  Paul's  writings.  JSTew 
words,  peculiar  phrasing,  feebleness  of  expression,  lack 
of  logic  betray  another  author.  In  reply  to  this  it  is 
asked.  Must  a  letter-writer  have  the  same  style  and 
words  at  all  times  and  in  all  correspondence?  May 
not  mood  and  circumstance  and  subject-matter  and  re- 
cipient cause  marked  changes?  (h.)  The  tone  of  the 
letters  is  not  what  Paul  would  use  when  addressing 
his  most  intimate  and  long-time  fellow-workers.  Note 
how  unsuitable  are  the  emphasis  of  his  apostleship  and 
authority,  the  information  about  his  past  career,  and 
the  solemn  repetition  of  simple  truths  and  obvious 
warnings.  But  are  not  just  these  features  a  charac- 
teristic of  old  age  ?  Or,  if  it  be  thought  that  Paul 
could  not  have  aged  so  greatly  since  he  wrote  the 
Eoman  prison  letters,  may  he  not  have  expected  that 
these  pastoral  letters  would  be  laid  before  the  church, 
and  therefore  have  shaped  their  contents  for  the  flock 
more  than  for  the  shepherd  ?  (c.)  The  great  Pauline 
ideas  are  largely  lacking : — "  faith  ''  has  lost  its  special 


THE  PASSING  OF  PAUL  251 

meaning,  so  emphasized  in  other  epistles,  and  become 
simply  one  of  the  Christian  virtues ;  godliness  and  good 
works  rather  than  union  with  Christ,  are  made  the  cen- 
ter of  a  Christian  life.  But  the  letters  are  not  polemic 
discussions  nor  doctrinal  treatises ;  they  are  practical  in- 
structions in  Christian  living;  and  only  the  religious 
ideas  that  suit  this  purpose  would  be  chosen  and  em- 
phasized. And  is  it  not  true  that  the  farther  one  ad- 
vances in  years,  the  more  a  quiet  walk  with  God  in  the 
way  of  His  commandments  seems  the  one  thing  to  be 
recommended  as  worth  while?  (d.)  The  letters  reveal 
a  development  of  ecclesiastical  organization  and  of 
gnosticism  which  was  not  reached  until  after  the  days 
of  Paul.  But  can  this  assertion  be  substantiated  ?  We 
really  know  very  little  about  the  church  life  or  the  here- 
sies in  the  middle  of  the  first  century ;  and  certainly  we 
must  not  put  the  same  fulness  of  meaning  into  the  terms 
used  in  these  epistles  that  we  would,  if  they  were  in 
writings  of  the  second  century.  Dr.  Lindsay,  speaking 
out  of  his  own  experience  as  a  missionary  in  India,  says, 
"  The  more  I  study  these  Pastoral  Epistles,  the  more 
evident  it  becomes  to  me  that  they  are  just  what  every 
experienced  missionary  has  to  impart  to  a  younger  and 
less  experienced  colleague  when  he  warns  him  about  the 
difficulties  he  must  face  and  the  tasks,  often  unexpected, 
he  will  find  confronting  him.  It  is  scarcely  to  be  won- 
dered at,  then,  that  the  Pastoral  Epistles  are  always 
among  the  earliest  portions  of  the  Scriptures  translated 
in  almost  every  mission  station.  *  *  *  The  very 
errors  [gnostic]  denounced  by  the  Pastoral  Epistles 
may  be  found  among  Hindu  enquirers  who  never  get 
further  than  enquiring  and  a  certain  measured  sym- 
pathy with  Christian  teachings." 

2.     The  Pastoral  Epistles  are  not  by  Paul,  but  the 


252  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

unknown  author  incorporated  in  them  certain  brief  notes 
by  him.  For  example,  Dr.  McGiffert  thinks  that  Titus, 
though  largely  not  Pauline,  is  based  on  a  note  written 
by  Paul  just  before  his  last  visit  to  Corinth;  that  II 
Timothy  contains  with  many  additions  a  farewell  letter 
from  Paul  at  Rome  shortly  before  his  death  at  the  end 
of  the  first  imprisonment,  and  also  a  brief  note  (about 
the  cloak,  etc.,  4:9,  llb-15,  20-21a),  written  from 
Macedonia  soon  after  Paul  was  forced  to  leave  Ephesus 
(Acts  20:  1)  ;  and  that  I  Timothy  has  at  the  utmost 
only  small  fragments  of  Pauline  letters.  The  objection 
to  this  or  any  other  composite  theory  is  that  there  is 
nothing  to  indicate  such  a  mixture  of  material ;  the  un- 
known author  and  compiler,  if  such  there  was,  must 
have  been  skilful  beyond  degree  in  making  his  produc- 
tion an  harmonious  whole  in  style  and  thought.  More- 
over, most  of  the  arguments  used  to  prove  that  Paul  did 
not  write  certain  parts  of  the  epistles  are  equally  valid 
against  the  supposition  that  he  wrote  any  part  of  them 
and  cannot  be  used  against  a  portion  without  invalidat- 
ing the  whole. 

3.  The  letters  are  by  Paul,  but  were  written  before 
the  end  of  the  first  imprisonment,  which  terminated  in 
death.  Bartlett,  for  example,  holds  that  I  Timothy  was 
written  soon  after  Paul  parted  with  the  elders  at  Mile- 
tus (Acts  20:38)  to  Timothy  who  had  been  left  behind 
to  look  after  the  church  at  Ephesus ;  that  Titus  was  writ- 
ten from  Rome,  the  recipient  having  been  left  at  Crete 
when  Paul  went  to  Rome;  and  that  II  Timothy  is  a 
farewell  letter  to  Timothy  at  Ephesus  just  before  the 
apostle's  death.  To  support  this  theory  he  has  to  sup- 
pose that  II  Timothy  4 :  20  has  somehow  strayed  from 
I  Timothy  where  it  belongs,  and  that  II  Timothy 
4:9-13,  21a  is  a  separate  letter,  written  earlier  than 


THE  PASSING  OF  PAUL  253 

Phillppians,  to  summon  Timothy  to  Rome.  Any  such 
theory  has  great  difficulty  in  fitting  the  facts  mentioned 
in  the  Pastoral  Epistles  into  what  we  know  of  the  apos- 
tle's life;  and  it  makes  the  Pastoral  Epistles  no  longer 
a  distinct  group  in  time,  but  alternates  their  composi- 
tion with  that  of  Romans  and  the  Epistles  of  the  Cap- 
tivity. Most  scholars  agTee  that  if  the  Pastoral  Epis- 
tles are  by  Paul,  they  must  havQ  been  written  after  he 
was  set  free  at  Rome,  since  no  previous  situation  meets 
their  requirements. 

4.  The  letters  are  genuine  and  were  written  after 
Paul's  release  from  imprisonment.  They  were  accepted 
and  treasured  as  such  almost  without  question  in  the 
early  centuries;  and  none  of  the  arguments  brought 
against  them  is  sufficient  to  prove  them  forgeries.  We 
shall  treat  them  as  genuine,  recognizing,  however,  that 
the  problems  they  present  are  only  partially  solved,  and 
that  their  Pauline  authorship  is  by  no  means  as  unmis- 
takable as  that  of  the  other  epistles  credited  to  him. 
However,  authorship  has  little  to  do  with  their  right  to 
a  place  in  the  New  Testament.  Even  if  they  are  by  an 
unknown  writer,  so  is  Hebrews.  The  church  has  tested 
them  by  its  own  spiritual  sense,  and  found  them  truly 
"  profitable  for  teaching,  for  reproof,  for  correction,  for 
instruction  which  is  in  righteousness  "  (II  Tim.  3  :  16)  ; 
and  this  apart  from  the  question  whether  Paul  was  their 
author.  But  if  they  are  by  Paul,  they  throw  some  light 
upon  his  last  years  and  his  death ;  and  thus  are  doubly 
precious  to  those  who  love  the  great  apostle  to  the 
Gentiles. 

2.    The  First  Letter  to  Timothy. 

If  we  suppose  that  Paul  was  set  at  liberty  and  that 
he  wrote  the  Pastoral  Epistles,  can  we  trace  his  move- 


254  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

ments,  or  decide  wlien  and  where  lie  wrote  tHem?  It  is 
an  almost  hopeless  task,  since  the  only  data  are  a  few 
incidental  statements  in  these  letters.  Without  the 
Book  of  Acts  how  much  could  we  discover  of  Paul's 
earlier  labours  from  his  epistles  ?  All  we  can  do  is  to 
sketch  a  possible  history.  From  his  expressed  intention 
to  visit  Colosse  and  Philippi  as  soon  as  he  was  released 
(Phile.  22;  Phil.  2:24),  we  maj  infer  that  his  first 
journey  was  among  his  beloved  churches  in  the  East. 
If  the  churches  in  Crete  were  a  fruit  of  his  own  labours, 
as  his  well-known  rule  of  not  working  in  other  men's 
fields  would  lead  us  to  suppose,  he  may  next  have  spent 
some  time  evangelizing  that  island  whose  shores  had 
appealed  to  him  when  he  sailed  so  close  to  them  on  his 
way  to  Rome.  'Next,  we  may  place  the  final  execution 
of  his  long-cherished  plan  to  visit  Spain.  Returning, 
after  we  cannot  say  how  long  a  stay,  he  revisits  Crete 
and  leaves  Titus  there  to  rectify  certain  conditions  and 
complete  the  organization  of  the  churches  (Titus  1:  5). 
He  goes  onward  to  Ephesus  where  he  finds  conditions 
bad,  and  has  to  excommunicate  Hymenaeus  and  Alex- 
ander as  heretics  (I  Tim.  1 :  20).  Leaving  Timothy  to 
continue  this  needed  work  of  repressing  heresy,  he  passes 
into  Macedonia  (I  Tim.  1:3),  and  from  there  he  would 
naturally  go  down  to  Achaia.  Corinth  would  be  the 
place  where  most  readily  he  could  hear  directly  or  indi- 
rectly from  Timothy.  Evidently  the  young  man  was 
having  a  hard  time.  He  had  previously  been  associated 
with  Paul  as  with  a  father  (Phil.  2:22),  and  the 
dominant  spirit  of  the  apostle  would  hinder  the  develop- 
ment of  a  self-reliant  character.  He  seems  to  have  been 
of  a  gentle,  pacific  and  somewhat  timorous  nature  (I 
Cor.  16:  10;  II  Tim.  1:4),  and  not  strong  physically 
(I  Tim.  5:  23).     Left  alone  to  handle  a  very  difficult 


THE  PASSING  OF  PAUL  255 

position,  it  is  not  strange  that  he  felt  like  deserting  it 
and  needed  a  letter  of  strong  encouragement  from  Paul. 

Since  Ephesus  was  the  metropolitan  citj,  the  other 
churches  of  Asia  looked  to  its  church  for  guidance  and 
assistance ;  and  Timothy,  as  the  apostle's  delegate,  would 
be  in  apostolic  charge  of  their  management,  involving 
the  superintendence  of  men  much  older  than  himself  in 
years  though  not  in  Christian  life.  And  in  all  matters 
of  doctrine  it  would  be  his  duty  to  guard  the  true  and 
oppose  the  false.  The  heresy  for  which  Hyraenaeus  and 
Alexander  were  excommunicated,  seems  to  have  been 
similar  to  that  which  had  appeared  earlier  in  Colosse, 
but  with  more  of  a  gnostic  element.  We  find  the 
*^ knowledge,  which  is  falsely  so  called''  (6:20),  the 
"  profane  and  old  wives'  fables  "  (^^  T),  which  are  the 
marvellous  stories  and  allegories  of  the  g-nostics,  and  the 
"endless  genealogies"  (1:4),  which  are  the  long  lists 
of  spiritual  beings  and  emanations,  framed  by  these 
heretics.  Asceticism,  also,  in  extreme  degree  is  prac- 
ticed or  at  least  commanded  (4:3).  The  law,  probably 
a  mixture  of  Jewish  ordinances  and  other  rules,  is 
taught  by  the  new  teachers  (1:7  f.),  who  with  conceit 
and  wordy  disputations  are  seeking  to  enrich  themselves 
in  their  position  as  religious  instructors  (6  :  3-5).  They 
were  a  hard  set  to  handle,  gi-eedy,  aggressive  and  per- 
sistent. To  master  them  was,  as  David  Smith  says,  "  a 
difficult  task  demanding  experience,  discretion  and 
courage;  and  these  qualities  Timothy  lacked."  Paul, 
by  his  letter,  seeks  to  place  his  own  at  Timothy's  service. 

After  the  salutation  to  "  his  true  child  in  the  faith  " 
(1:1-2)  Paul  starts  to  renew  his  exhortation  that 
Timothy  should  remain  at  Ephesus,  but  in  true  Pauline 
fashion  leaves  it  unfinished  while  he  passes  on  to  speak 
at  once  of  the  purpose  of  his  remaining, — the  silencing 


256  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

of  the  heretical  teachers  (3-4)  who  in  ignorance  and 
conceit  are  teaching  the  law  without  knowing  the  true 
purpose  of  law  as  the  gospel  of  God  has  revealed  it 
(5-11).  Paul's  own  spiritual  history  shows  the  power 
that  even  the  foremost  of  sinners  may  receive  when 
Christ  mercifully  saves  him  and  appoints  him  to  His 
service  (12-17) ;  and  the  charge  he  himself  has  courage- 
ously defended,  he  now  entrusts  to  Timothy  (18-20). 
'Next  he  proceeds  to  deal  with  matters  pertaining  to  the 
church  life.  Prayers  should  be  offered  for  all  to  God 
who  would  have  all  to  be  saved  ( 2  : 1-6  ) .  Women  in  mod- 
est dress  and  with  fitting  docility  should  give  themselves 
to  good  works  and  the  duties  of  motherhood  (  8-15  ) .  The 
church  officers  must  be  above  reproach  in  character  and 
life,  experienced  and  tested;  for  the  church  of  God  is 
the  foundation  and  support  of  the  truth  (3:1-14). 
This  section  of  the  letter  closes  with  what  seems  to  be 
some  lines  from  an  early  Christian  hymn  in  praise  of 
Christ  (16).  Passing  on  now  to  injunctions  for  Tim- 
othy personally,  he  warns  him  against  asceticism, — a 
course  of  life  to  which  the  young  man  seems  disposed 
(4:1-10);  and  with  fatherly  commands  and  precepts 
advises  him  how  to  care  for  himself  and  his  teaching 
(11-16),  and  how  to  deal  with  the  various  classes  in  a 
church, — the  older  and  younger  men  or  women,  the 
widows  who  are  to  be  enrolled  as  church  wards  and  the 
younger  widows  who  should  marry,  the  elders  in  their 
office,  and  the  masters  and  slaves  (5:  1-6:  2).  The  let- 
ter closes  with  a  denunciation  of  the  avaricious  heretics 
(6:  3-10),  a  charge  to  Timothy  to  fight  the  good  fight 
of  the  faith  (11-16),  a  message  through  him  to  those 
who  have  riches  (17-19),  and  a  final  charge — perhaps 
autographic — to  guard  the  gospel  against  the  heretics 
(20-21). 


THE  PASSING  OF  PAUL  257 

3.    The  Letter  to  Titus. 

The  letter  to  Titus  resembles  the  first  letter  to  Tim- 
otliy  so  strongly  that  we  must  suppose  the  two  were 
written  at  the  same  time.  Paul,  so  the  letter  shows,  was 
planning  to  spend  the  winter  at  Xicopolis  (3:12). 
There  were  half  a  dozen  cities  of  that  name;  but  the 
most  famous  was  in  Epirus,  and  most  critics  understand 
it  to  be  meant.  It  was  the  leading  city  in  a  section  of 
Achaia  that  Paul  had  not  yet  evangelized,  and  he  would 
use  it  as  headquarters  for  the  work.  He  wanted  Titus 
as  his  assistant,  and  wrote  to  tell  him  to  be  ready  to 
come  from  Crete  as  soon  as  Artemas  or  Tychicus  arrived 
to  take  his  place  there.  A  simple  note  to  this  effect 
would  have  been  enough ;  but  Paul's  mind  was  still  full 
of  the  difficulties  Timothy  had  encountered  and  the  ad- 
vice given  him.  Titus  was  an  older  and  possibly  abler 
man  than  Timothy,  and  the  situation  in  Crete  was  not 
the  same  as  in  Ephesus;  yet  much  of  the  advice  given 
Timothy  would  be  so  helpful  to  Titus  that  Paul  did  not 
hesitate  to  repeat  it,  condensing  it  and  omitting  the  di- 
rections for  personal  improvement.  Years  before  when 
writing  to  the  Corinthians,  Paul  called  Titus  "  my 
brother,  my  partner,  and  fellow-worker "  (II  Cor. 
2:  13;  8:  23)  ;  here,  with  the  feeling  of  an  old  man, 
he  classes  him  with  Timothy  as  "  my  true  child.'' 

The  salutation  is  unusually  long,  and  like  that  of 
Romans  contains  an  epitome  of  the  gospel  (1:1-4). 
Then  Paul  starts  in  at  once  to  give,  much  as  in  I  Tim- 
othy, the  qualifications  of  those  elder  men  who  are  to 
be  appointed  overseers  in  each  city  (5-9).  There  was 
special  need  of  good  men  to  fill  this  high  office ;  for  the 
Cretans  were  notoriously  lax,  and  gnostic  Judaizers 
were  busy  and  must  be  stopped  (10-16).     For  Titus' 


258  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

own  work  of  supervision  Paul  gives  him  certain  charges 
to  the  aged  men  (2:  1-2),  to  the  aged  women  who  in 
turn  are  to  teach  the  younger  (3-6),  to  the  younger  men 
whom  he  is  also  to  guide  by  example  (6-8),  and  to  the 
slaves  (9-10), — all  these  being  based  on  the  teaching 
that  God  has  given  through  Christ  (11-15).  The  duties 
of  Christians  to  the  outside  world  (3:1-2)  are  likewise 
founded  on  the  same  gracious  revelation  of  God  (3-8). 
Brief  warnings  against  false  teachings  and  factious 
teachers  follow  (9-11).  Personal  directions  about 
Titus'  coming,  greetings  from  those  with  Paul  and  to 
all  the  church,  and  a  benediction  close  the  letter 
(12-15).  It  was  carried  by  Zenas  the  lawyer  and  Apol- 
los,  who  were  going  to  touch  at  Crete  on  their  way  to 
some  other  place  (13). 

4.    The  Second  Letter  to  Timothy. 

When  Paul  wrote  the  second  time  to  Timothy  he  was 
again  in  prison  (II  Tim.  2:9),  probably  at  Rome 
(1:  17), — tradition  uniformly  says  he  died  there;  but 
Timothy  seems  to  have  been  no  longer  at  Ephesus.  Cer- 
tainly if  summoned  with  all  haste  from  Ephesus  to 
Rome,  he  would  not  be  asked  to  make  a  journey  of  sev- 
eral days  up  to  Troas  and  back  for  Paul's  cloak  and 
books  (4:  13),  nor  need  to  be  told  that  Tychicus  had 
been  sent  to  Ephesus,  and  Trophimus  left  ill  at  Miletus 
nearby  (4:  12-13,  20).  Probably  he  was  then  at  Troas 
or  in  that  neighbourhood  evangelizing.  But  what  had 
happened  meanwhile  ?  Paul  had  visited  Troas  and  had 
intended  to  return  there,  for  he  left  his  cloak  and  travel 
library  behind ;  he  had  been  evilly  treated  by  Alexander 
the  coppersmith  against  whom  he  warns  Timothy 
(4:14  f.)  ;  he  had  been  abandoned  by  all  of  Asia 
(1:15);  he  had  stopped  at  Miletus  and  probably  at 


THE  PASSING  OF  PAUL  259 

Corintli.  These  items  are  like  fragments  of  a  picture 
puzzle  of  which  the  great  portion  is  lost.  Can  we  make 
anything  out  of  them?  Did  he  come  from  Epirus  in 
the  spring  and,  after  crossing  to  Troas  for  a  visit  with 
Timothy,  venture  a  hasty  trip  to  Ephesus  where  Alex- 
ander informed  against  him,  and  none  of  his  Asian  con- 
verts came  forward  to  help  ?  And  was  it  as  a  prisoner 
and  on  his  way  to  Rome  that  he  parted  with  Trophimus 
at  Miletus  and  with  Erastus  at  Corinth  ?  We  cannot 
tell.  Neither  can  we  tell  what  happened  afterwards  at 
Rome.  When  did  Demas  decamp,  and  why  were  Cres- 
cens  sent  to  Galatia  and  Titus  to  Dalmatia  (4:  10)  ? 
What  were  the  charges  against  Paul  ?  When  was  his 
first  hearing?  And  how  was  he  delivered  out  of  the 
mouth  of  the  lion  if  no  one  would  take  his  part 
(4:  16  f.)  ?  Again,  these  are  queries  to  which  there  is 
no  answer. 

The  letter  reveals  that  his  second  imprisonment  is 
very  different  from  his  first.  Then  he  could  live  in  his 
own  hired  house  as  a  Roman  gentleman;  now  he  is 
bound  as  a  criminal  (2:9)  and  Onesiphorus  has  to 
search  the  dungeons  to  find  him  (1:  16  f.).  Then  he 
had  a  large  circle  of  friends  about  him  besides  his  fel- 
low-workers; now  the  group  is  a  little  one  (4:21). 
Then  he  confidently  expected  release;  now  he  as  confi- 
dently expects  that  the  time  of  his  departure  is  come 
(4:6).  And  it  threatens  to  come  even  sooner  than  he 
expected  when  he  began  to  write  the  letter.  Evidently 
there  was  a  sudden  change  in  the  situation.  In  the  let- 
ter up  to  4 :  9,  Paul  contemplates  Timothy's  continu- 
ance in  his  present  work;  but  the  letter  closes  with  an 
earnest  and  repeated  appeal  to  come  to  him  quickly, — 
come  before  the  winter  shuts  off  navigation  (4:  9,  21). 
Can  we  use  our  imagination  to  explain  all  this  ?    Tradi- 


260  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

tion  uniformly  declares  that  Paul  was  martyred  under 
ISTero;  and,  allowing  for  the  time  required  for  the  jour- 
neys we  have  supposed,  the  date  could  not  have  been 
much  before  the  emperor's  death  in  68  a.d.  In  the 
summer  of  64  a.d.  there  had  been  that  disastrous  fire 
which  so  nearly  destroyed  Rome.  !N^ero  had  laid  the 
blame  of  it  upon  the  Christians,  seeking  thus  to  avert 
the  ugly  suspicion  that  he  was  its  author,  and  had 
pushed  a  persecution  in  which  any  who  bore  the  name 
of  Christ  were  put  to  death  by  torture.  After  that  time 
a  Christian  coming  before  the  courts  of  ISTero  on  any 
charge  had  no  possibility  of  kindly  treatment,  and  little 
chance  of  acquittal.  Paul's  place  of  confinement  would 
be  a  dungeon ;  and  he  might  expect  a  sentence  of  death 
when  he  was  brought  before  the  court.  We  know  not 
how  long  he  had  to  wait  a  trial, — ^long  enough  for  the 
ministry  of  Onesiphorus  to  be  very  necessary, — ^but 
when  he  did  face  his  judges,  he  made  such  a  favourable 
impression  and  set  forth  such  an  able  defence  that, 
being  a  Roman  citizen,  he  was  remanded  for  a  further 
hearing.  The  Christians  in  Rome  had  been  unwilling 
to  risk  their  lives  by  testifying  in  his  favour ;  so  possibly 
he  was  allowed  time  to  summon  witnesses  from  else- 
where, or  the  court  decided  to  wait  the  appearance  of 
other  witnesses  against  him.  Though  he  had  little  hope 
of  ultimate  release,  it  would  be  months  before  these  wit- 
nesses could  appear ;  meanwhile  he  could  send  messages 
and  messengers  to  his  churches,  and  could  comfort  his 
own  restless  spirit  with  the  reflection  that  when  defend- 
ing himself  he  had  now,  as  in  the  previous  instance, 
fully  proclaimed  the  gospel  message  to  his  Gentile 
judges  and  the  throng  that  listened  in  the  courtroom 
(4:  17).  These  were  the  circumstances  under  which  he 
began  his  letter  to  Timothy.     But  before  he  had  com- 


THE  PASSING  OF  PAUL  261 

pleted  it,  there  came  word,  we  will  suppose,  that  his 
enemies, — very  probably  the  Jews  in  Rome, — ^had  fur- 
nished new  witnesses  or  new  accusations,  and  a  second 
and  undoubtedly  fatal  trial  might  be  expected  in  the 
near  future.  It  is  this  news  that  causes  him  to  close 
his  letter  hurriedly  with  an  appeal  to  Timothy  to  come 
with  all  haste,  and  to  send  it  olf  at  once. 

Paul's  imderlying  thought  as  he  began  the  letter  to 
Timothy  is  disclosed  in  the  very  salutation  (1:1-2): 
his  apostleship  is  ^'  according  to  the  promise  of  life  in 
Christ  Jesus,'' — the  life  that  no  enemy  can  destroy. 
He  constantly  bears  Timothy  in  mind  and  longs  to  see 
him  (3-5)  ;  and  he  exhorts  him  to  use  the  powers  God 
gave  him  at  his  ordination,  unterrified  by  the  perils  into 
which  he  has  seen  the  apostle  plunged  (6-12),  and  to 
guard  the  sound  doctrine  committed  to  him  (13-14). 
Paul  contrasts  the  faithlessness  of  the  Asians  with  the 
courage  of  Onesiphorus  (15-18),  and  bids  Timothy,  like 
him,  to  labour  and  suffer  in  the  gospel  (2:  1-10),  quot- 
ing from  an  early  hymn  in  conclusion  (11-13).  As  for 
refutation  of  heretics,  which  was  one  of  Timothy's  hard- 
est tasks,  it  is  best  done,  not  by  disputations  but  by 
handling  aright  the  word  of  truth  (14-19),  and  still 
more  by  a  manifestation  in  his  own  life  of  the  Christian 
virtues  (20-26).  The  prospect,  indeed,  is  dark;  evei'y 
kind  of  evil  man  will  oppose  the  progress  of  the  truth, 
under  the  pretence  of  serving  God  (3:  1-10),  but  Tim- 
othy's course  should  be  a  reproduction  of  Paul's,  which 
he  knows  so  well,  with  the  wisdom  that  comes  from  the 
Holy  Scriptures  which  he  has  known  from  childhood 
(10-17).  He  is  to  preach  the  word  earnestly  and  con- 
stantly, even  though  men  turn  from  it,  and  to  fulfil  his 
ministry,  because  Paul's  own  labours  are  nearly  ended 
and  his  reward  is  at  hand  (4:1-8).    At  this  point  comes 


262  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

the  sudden  change  we  have  noted.  In  a  series  of  hur- 
ried sentences  Paul  urges  Timothy  to  come  to  him  at 
once,  and  indicates  where  his  trusted  friends  now  are, 
and  the  dangerous  situation  in  which  he  finds  himself 
(9-18).  Erief  salutations,  a  note  about  Erastus  and 
Trophimus,  and  a  hurried  benediction,  end  the  letter 
(19-22). 

These  are  the  last  words  of  Paul, — fitting,  beautiful 
and  touching.  His  last  hours  are  veiled  save  as  these 
words  throw  light  upon  the  spirit  with  which  he  met 
his  end.  Though  on  his  missionary  journeys  he  had 
faced  death  often  (II  Cor.  11:  23),  his  confidence  that 
he  would  remain  alive  to  meet  his  coming  Lord  seems 
to  have  been  unshaken  down  even  to  the  time  when  he 
wrote  his  triumphant  anthem  of  the  resurrection  of  the 
dead  (I  Thess.  4:  17;  I  Cor.  15:  51).  But  after  the 
unrecorded  sufferings  in  Ephesus,  when  as  he  reports 
"  we  despaired  even  of  life  ''  (II  Cor.  1 :  8  f.),  he  began 
to  look  forward  to  his  own  decease,  first  with  calm  wil- 
lingness and  then  with  increasing  desire  (II  Cor.  5:8; 
Phil.  1 :  23).  His  longing  to  depart  and  be  with  Christ 
did  not  weaken  his  interest  in  the  great  work  to  which 
he  had  set  his  hand,  nor  degenerate  into  a  sickly  yearn- 
ing after  heavenly  rest  from  labour ;  but  when  the  time 
of  departure  was  come,  he  passed,  v/ith  the  glad  assur- 
ance of  one  who  had  finished  the  course  and  kept  the 
faith,  to  receive  the  crown  of  righteousness.  Tradition 
says  he  was  beheaded,  which  would  be  the  form  of  cap- 
ital punishment  for  a  Roman  citizen,  and  that  the 
execution  took  place  outside  the  city,  a  precaution  ob- 
served when  there  was  likelihood  of  a  popular  demon- 
stration. The  sites  of  his  death  and  burial  are  identi- 
fied by  a  feebly  trustworthy  tradition,  and  are  marked 


THE  PASSING  OF  PAUL  263 

by  churclies.     Various  stories  concerning  his  last  liours 
are  of  little  historical  value. 

5.     Paul's  Services  to  Christianity. 

Paul  was  a  born  leader.  Imperious  yet  considerate 
and  tactful,  proud  yet  with  a  vein  of  true  humility, 
burning  with  zeal  though  ever  strongly  practical,  over- 
flowing with  love  but  never  sentimental,  interested  in 
life  rather  than  in  things  of  abstract  thought,  skilled  in 
reading  men  and  swaying  them,  an  orator  who  could 
hold  a  savage  mob  or  stir  a  blase  monarch,  a  poet  and 
mystic  who  was  neither  fanciful  nor  visionary, — nature 
had  equipped  him  for  mastery  of  his  fellows.  It  would 
be  interesting  to  compare  him  with  Mahomet,  and  note 
in  how  many  ways  these  two  leaders — so  widely  differ- 
ent in  their  careers — had  the  same  natural  endowments. 
To  natural  gifts  was  added  a  training  both  intellectual 
and  spiritual  that  fitted  him  for  a  world  mission.  We 
have  noted  this  repeatedly,  and  must  not  dwell  upon  it 
now ;  but  we  must  recall  his  remarkable  breadth  of  sym- 
pathy and  range  of  vision.  He  could  rejoice  because 
Christ  was  preached,  even  though  the  preaching  differed 
widely  from  his  own  way  of  presenting  the  gospel,  and 
was  by  those  who  refused  to  recognize  his  right  to 
preach.  He  may  seem  intolerant  in  his  battle  against 
the  Judaizers;  but  it  was  their  intolerance  that  roused 
him  to  do  battle.  His  plans  of  evangelism  embraced  the 
whole  world,  at  least  the  whole  Roman  world;  and  his 
thought  was  in  terms,  not  of  individuals  or  cities  but 
of  provinces.  He  reveals  this  when  he  calls  Epaenetus 
the  first  fruits  not  merely  of  Ephesus  but  of  Asia  (Rom. 
16 :  5)  ;  and  the  household  of  Stephanas  the  first  fruits 
of  Achaia  (I  Cor.  16:  15),  and  the  gifts  of  Philippi 
and  his  other  churches  in  that  province  the  contribu- 


264  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

tions  of  Macedonia  (Kom.  15:26).  As  Jesus  showed 
His  love  for  all  men  by  reaching  down  to  the  dregs  and 
pariahs  of  Palestine,  so  Paul  showed  that  same  love  bj 
reaching  out  to  the  farthest  bounds  of  the  Roman 
empire. 

It  has  been  asserted  by  some  that  Paul  was  the  real 
founder  of  Christianity.  They  say  that  he  gave  it  the 
theological  doctrines  and  the  universal  character  with- 
out which  the  simple  precepts  of  Jesus  would  soon  have 
been  forgotten,  and  the  faith  in  His  Messiahship  would 
have  been  crushed  by  repeated  disappointment  about 
His  return.  Certain  others  denounce  Paul  as  a  per- 
verter  of  Christianity.  They  maintain  that  the  limpid 
stream  of  the  gospel  was  polluted  and  turned  from  its 
course  by  his  rabbinical  ideas  and  abstruse  metaphysics, 
and  that  only  in  his  development  of  the  ethical  and 
social  teachings  of  Jesus  can  he  be  accepted  to-day. 
The  truth  of  these  statements  depends  upon  the  nature 
of  the  Master  for  whom  Paul  gave  his  life.  Was  Jesus 
such  an  one  as  he  proclaimed, — the  eternal  Son  of  God 
incarnate;  or  was  He  only  a  remarkable,  spiritually- 
minded  son  of  Abraham  ?  Is  He  to-day  merely  a  shade, 
growing  more  shadowy  as  the  world  sweeps  on  into 
light;  or  is  He  the  greatest  of  living,  acting  personali- 
ties? Is  union  with  Him  another  phrase  for  kindly 
sympathy  with  His  thought  and  purpose,  so  far  as  we 
can  discover  them  in  the  past ;  or  is  it  complete  surren- 
der to  an  unseen  but  present  Lord  ?  In  short,  did  Paul 
create  the  Christ  whom  he  preached,  or  did  he  lay  hold 
on  Him, — or  rather,  to  use  his  own  phrase,  was  he  laid 
hold  on  by  Him?  Without  discussing  these  questions 
we  may  say  confidently  that  if  the  Christian  church  in 
its  great  ecumenical  creeds  has  truly  stated  what  Jesus 
is,  then  Paul  may  be  declared  to  have  been  the  one  of 


THE  PASSING  OF  PAUL  265 

the  apostles  who  best  understood  His  mission  and  pro- 
claimed His  truth, — "  the  congenial  interpreter  of  the 
message  of  Jesus/'  The  development  of  Christianity 
through  Paul  was  from  the  seed  his  Master  had  planted. 
What  he  did  was  to  change  Christianity  from  a  Jewish 
to  a  world  religion  by  breaking  down  all  barriers  and 
placing  it  at  the  head  of  the  highest  thought  of  the  ages. 
And  as  he  laboured  to  preserve  the  unity  of  the 
church, — the  body  of  Christ  with  one  Lord,  one  faith, 
one  baptism,  one  God  and  Father  of  all;  so  he  strove 
to  present  the  unity  of  its  Head  as  truly  God  and  also 
truly  man.  Much  that  was  precious  and  distinctive  in 
Paul's  teachings  was  later  on  rejected  when  the  church 
entered  upon  degenerate  days.  Instead  of  justification 
by  faith  alone  men  began  to  teach  merit  gained  by  good 
deeds.  The  immediate  access  of  all  believers  to  God 
was  blocked  by  creating  a  priesthood.  The  freedom 
from  law,  for  which  he  fought  so  stoutly,  was  destroyed 
by  framing  and  enforcing  a  new  code  of  Christian  laws. 
And  instead  of  recognizing  Christianity  to  be  a  life, — 
"  Christ  in  me," — it  came  to  be  presented  as  the  sub- 
scription to  a  creed, — orthodoxy.  But  all  Paul's  teach- 
ings still  remain  in  his  immortal  letters  at  the  service  of 
the  church  whenever  she  chooses  to  use  them.  And  so, 
though  dead,  he  yet  speaketh. 


XVI 

THE  LATER  CHUECH  IN  PALESTINE 

CHRISTIANITY  soon  began  to  ignore  tlie 
parent  church,  not  so  much  because  the  Gen- 
tile Christians  greatly  outnumbered  the  Jew- 
ish, as  because  the  church  in  Palestine  ceased  to  have 
the  life  and  energy  necessary  for  leadership.  It  be- 
came conservative  and  stereotyped,  and  had  little  in- 
terest in  the  broader  work  outside  its  confines.  Chris- 
tianity means  missions,  and  Jerusalem  ceased  to  be 
missionary.  From  that  hour  its  history  is  only  a  foot- 
note in  the  great  story  of  the  progress  of  the  King- 
dom. We  must  not,  however,  overlook  the  tremendous 
obstacles  that  confronted  the  parent  church,  nor  fail 
to  give  full  credit  and  generous  sym}>athy  to  Jewish 
Christians  in  their  brave  struggle  against  them.  As 
Weizsacker  says,  "  Christian  churches  formed  in  a 
heathen  city  certainly  never  experienced,  either  at  the 
outset  or  throughout  their  history,  any  hatred  and  op- 
position like  that  which  surrounded  believers  among 
their  Jewish  compatriots;  and  nowhere  was  the  self- 
sacrifice  of  renunciation,  the  conflict  with  the  power 
of  a  traditional  doctrine,  greater  than  in  the  case  of 
native  Jews."  Moreover,  the  Jewish  church  was 
closely  connected  with  Jewish  political  fortunes,  and 
Palestine  was  now  entering  upon  the  great  disaster  and 
tragedy  of  its  history.  This  sad  chapter  must  be  out- 
lined as  the  background  for  a  sketch  of  the  fortunes 

of  the  church. 

266 


THE  LATER  CHURCH  IN  PALESTINE      267 

1.    Rome  and  Palestine. 

Palestine  was  one  of  the  important  provinces  of  tlie 
Roman  Empire,  made  so  by  its  position  as  a  frontier 
barrier  against  the  Arabs  and  Persians,  and  as  a  nar- 
row bridge  connecting  Egypt  with  Asia  Minor.  There 
was  every  inducement  for  the  Roman  government  to 
keep  it  loyal  and  contented,  but  this  was  no  easy  task. 
The  idiosyncrasies  of  the  Jews  were  many  and  strong, 
and  a  Gentile  ruler  even  with  the  best  intentions  would 
often  arouse  opposition  and  hatred.  And  the  whole 
Jewish  conception  of  national  life,  with  God  as  sole 
ruler  and  the  Law  controlling  things  secular  as  well 
as  sacred,  was  opposed  to  a  quiet  acceptance  of  Rome's 
authority.  The  recent  brief  but  intoxicating  taste  of 
independence  in  the  days  of  the  Maccabees,  and  the 
vivid  prophetic  pictures  of  Israel's  future  dominion 
over  all  nations,  kept  the  Jews  restless  and  inclined  to 
revolt.  Nevertheless,  every  sagacious  patriot  could  not 
but  see  the  madness  of  rising  against  the  overwhelm- 
ing force  of  Rome,  and  would  counsel  submission  and 
patience  until  such  time  as  Jehovah  Himself  might 
come  to  their  relief. 

Herod  Agrippa  I  (41-44  a.d.),  to  whom  the  Romans 
had  entrusted  the  domains  of  his  grandfather,  Herod 
the  Great,  was  an  able  ruler,  "  a  careful  imitator  of 
the  old  Herod,  only  milder  in  disposition  and  some- 
what more  sly"  (Schiirer).  Being  himself  a  Jew  by 
nationality,  though  an  Idumaean  by  race,  he  was  far 
more  acceptable  to  the  Jews  than  a  Roman  procurator, 
and  his  endeavour  to  please  them  ( Act^  12 : 3)  made 
him  popular.  When  he  died  his  son  was  deemed  too 
young  to  succeed  him;  so  the  whole  of  Palestine,  as 
foraierly  Judea  and  Samaria,  was  put  under  a  pro- 


268  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

curator,  subject  to  the  governor  of  Syria.  There  were 
seven  of  these  procurators  up  to  the  time  of  the  revolt, 
even  as  there  had  been  seven  betv^^een  Archaelaus  and 
Herod  Agrippa.  As  foreigners  thej  usually  had  little 
knov^ledge  of  the  Jev^s  or  sympathy  v^ith  their  peculiar 
institutions;  and  like  most  petty  governors,  the  major- 
ity were  insolent  and  tyrannical.  Felix  was  the  fourth 
of  the  seven.  Up  to  his  time  there  had  been  only 
sporadic  outbreaks  against  the  Roman  rule;  now  his 
oppressive  acts  made  the  spirit  of  revolt  universal. 
The  party  of  the  Zealots,  who  advocated  armed  resist- 
ance, greatly  increased;  the  Sicarii  or  assassins  ap- 
peared; and  religious  fanatics  drew  crowds  into  the 
wilderness  by  promising  to  set  up  the  kingdom  of  God 
(Acts  21:38).  Festus,  with  the  best  of  intentions, 
had  too  little  knowledge  of  the  situation  and  ruled  for 
too  short  a  time  to  undo  the  mischief  wrought  by  his 
predecessor.  The  last  two  procurators,  Albinus  and 
Gessius  Florus,  had  but  one  aim, — to  make  what  they 
could  out  of  their  office  by  every  sort  of  extortion  and 
iniquity.  The  final  outrage  was  when  the  latter  robbed 
the  temple  treasury  of  seventeen  talents.  The  whole 
nation  rose  against  him,  and  the  daily  sacrifice  for  the 
emperor  was  stopped,  which  was  an  open  declaration 
of  revolt.  The  governor  of  Syria  came  with  an  army 
to  crush  the  rebellion,  and  was  defeated  near  Jeru- 
salem with  heavy  loss.  All  Palestine  now  prepared 
for  war  with   Eome.      This   was   in  the   autumn   of 

66    A.D. 

The  next  spring  Vespasian  with  his  son  Titus  led 
a  Roman  army  from  Antioch  against  Galilee,  and  by 
the  end  of  the  summer  had  subdued  it.  He  went  into 
winter  quarters  at  Caesarea,  intending  to  continue  the 
campaign  the  next  year;  but  the  death  of  ISTero,  Jime, 


THE  LATER  CHURCH  IN  PALESTINE      269 

68  A.D.,  made  liim  suspend  his  preparations  for  the 
siege  of  Jerusalem;  and  the  rapid  succession  of  phan- 
tom emperors, — Galba,  Otho,  Vitellius, — ^held  him  in- 
active until  his  own  army  in  July,  69  a.d.,  proclaimed 
him  emperor  and  he  went  to  Rome  to  secure  his  throne. 
Meanwhile,  Jerusalem  was  rent  with  fanatical,  civil 
strife.  Three  parties  held  possession  of  different  parts 
of  it,  and  mercilessly  fought  each  other,  even  destroy- 
ing the  grain  that  had  been  stored  up  against  a  siege. 
A  few  days  before  the  Passover  of  70  a.d.,  when  the 
city  was  packed  with  pilgTims,  Titus  came  with  a 
Roman  army  and  invested  it.  Despite  horrible  suffer- 
ings from  famine  the  Jews  refused  to  surrender,  be- 
lieving that  in  the  hour  of  utter  extremity  Jehovah 
would  grant  a  miraculous  deliverance  as  when  Senna- 
cherib besieged  the  city  (II  Kings  19:35).  In  Au- 
gust the  temple  was  captured;  and,  according  to 
Josephus,  though  Titus  had  given  strict  orders  to  pre- 
serve it,  a  firebrand  hurled  by  an  excited  soldier  caused 
it  to  go  up  in  flames.  Another  and,  perhaps,  more 
probable  account  is  that  after  the  close  of  the  siege 
Titus  ordered  the  temple  to  be  destroyed,  thinking  that 
thus  the  religion  of  the  Jews  and  of  the  Christians 
would  be  more  easily  blotted  out.  In  September  the 
last  portion  of  the  city  was  taken,  and  it  was  razed 
to  the  ground, — a  fragment  of  the  wall  being  left  to 
show  its  former  strength  and  protect  the  Roman  gar- 
rison left  in  charge.  Of  the  host  of  Jewish  captives 
the  finest  were  sent  to  Rome  to  grace  the  triumph  of 
Titus,  and  the  rest  were  sold  into  Javery.  Judea  was 
now  made  a  separate  province  with  a  special  governor 
residing  at  Caesarea. 

The  fall  of  Jerusalem  caused  great  changes  in  the 
inner  life  of  the  Jewish  people.     The  destruction  of 


270  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

the  temple  made  impossible  all  the  religious  rites  con- 
nected with  it,  and  ended  the  occupation  of  the  priests. 
There  was  no  longer  a  Sanhedrin;  and  the  Sadducees, 
having  lost  fortune  and  influence,  disappeared  forever. 
The  Pharisees  became  the  sole  leaders;  and  the  Law 
was  studied  and  developed  with  increasing  diligence, 
though  much  of  it  was  no  longer  practicable.  Jabne 
(Jamnia),  a  town  on  the  coast  south  of  Joppa,  became 
the  headquarters  of  the  rabbis,  and  their  decisions 
were  sought  by  the  devout  and  given  the  authority  of 
the  vanished  Sanhedrin.  The  Messianic  hope  still  re- 
mained, and  so  increased  in  force  that  the  next  cen- 
tury saw  a  new  revolt  inspired  by  it.  But  for  the 
present  the  political  power  of  Judaism  was  utterly 
crushed.  Outside  of  Palestine  the  Jews  suffered  little. 
The  half  shekel,  which  they  had  hitherto  paid  as  a  tax 
to  support  the  temple,  was  now  made  a  Eoman  tribute 
which  Vespasian  applied  to  the  support  of  the  Cap- 
itoline  Jupiter: — that  was  about  all. 

2.    The  Jews  and  the  Christians. 

After  the  persecution  beginning  with  the  death  of 
Stephen  had  ceased,  the  Christians  in  Palestine  en- 
joyed a  period  of  comparative  peace  (Acts  9:31). 
The  Hellenists  had  fled  to  their  homes  in  foreign 
lands,  and  the  Hebrews  were  more  than  ever  careful 
to  observe  all  Jewish  laws  and  avoid  the  suspicion  that 
they  were  not  loyal  Jews.  If  regard  for  personal 
safety  might  not  inspire  this  action,  the  desire  to  win 
their  nation  to  acceptance  of  Jesus  as  Messiah  would 
certainly  do  so.  James  the  Just  is  said  to  have  worn 
his  knees  to  callousness  in  prayers  for  the  conversion 
of  his  countrymen ;  and  a  similar  zeal  filled  the  hearts 
of  others,  even  of  Paul  (Rom.  10:1;  9:3).     Doubt- 


THE  LATER  CHURCH  IN  PALESTINE      271 

less  one  reason  wliy  the  great  apostle  to  the  Gentiles 
was  so  disliked  by  his  brethren  in  Jerusalem  was  their 
belief  that  by  offering  the  gospel  to  the  heathen  he  was 
causing  the  Jews  to  shut  their  hearts  against  it.  The 
glimpse  we  gain  of  the  church  in  Jerusalem  at  his 
last  visit  reveals  that  its  members  were  more  than  ever 
"  all  zealous  for  the  Law"  (Acts  21:  20).  Neverthe- 
less, the  persecution  had  done  much  towards  sharply 
differentiating  the  Christians  and  creating  distrust  of 
them;  and  the  fire  of  persecution  still  smouldered. 
Just  what  charge  caused  the  action  of  Herod  Agrippa  I 
against  James,  the  brother  of  John,  and  Peter,  we  do 
not  know;  but  the  inspiration  of  it  was  the  popular 
dislike  of  the  Christians.  Anything  like  a  gen- 
eral persecution,  however,  was  averted  by  the  death  of 
Herod  and  the  coming  of  Roman  procurators,  who 
neither  knew  nor  cared  about  the  difference  between 
Jews  and  Christians,  and  who  would  not  allow  popular 
tumults.  An  opportunity  for  independent  action  arose 
when  the  death  of  Festus  left  Palestine  without  a 
Roman  ruler  until  the  arrival  of  his  successor.  Dur- 
ing this  brief  interregnum  Ananus,  the  high  priest,  put 
to  death  James  the  Just  and  certain  others,  probably 
Christians;  but  it  is  hardly  likely  that  he  did  this 
through  religious  zeal;  for  as  a  Sadducee  he  cared 
little  about  the  Law,  while  James  was  distinguished 
among  his  brethren  for  scrupulousness  in  observing  it. 
The  leading  men  of  the  city,  who  would  be  Pharisees, 
condemned  the  deed  of  Ananus ;  and  in  consequence  he 
was  deposed  from  his  office,  though  he  had  held  it  only 
three  months. 

As  the  spirit  of  revolution  increased  among  the 
Jews,  the  position  of  the  Christians  became  more  diffi- 
cult.    The  precepts  of  Jesus  forbade  them  from  draw- 


272  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

ing  the  sword ;  yet  a  refusal  to  do  so  seemed  disloyalty 
to  their  country.  Also,  the  completion  of  the  temple 
(62-64  A.D.),  work  upon  which  had  been  going  on  for 
more  than  eighty  years,  awakened  an  enthusiasm  for 
the  Jewish  faith  which  would  sweep  many  Christians 
back  into  their  former  religion,  and  cause  the  others 
to  be  more  sharply  criticised.  When  at  last  the  war 
broke  out,  still  greater  changes  took  place.  The  Chris- 
tians of  Galilee  fled  from  the  deluge  of  blood  which 
covered  that  land,  going  over  into  Decapolis  or  to  their 
brethren  in  Tyre,  Caesarea  and  other  cities;  and  the 
bitter  party  strifes  in  Jerusalem  the  following  years 
led  the  Christians  of  that  city  to  take  refuge  elsewhere 
as  their  Master  had  ordered  (Matt.  24: 15  f.).  Pella, 
across  the  Jordan  in  the  old  land  of  Gilead,  was  one 
place  of  shelter;  but  the  most  strictly  Judaistic  party 
would  not  go  to  a  semi-Gentile  city,  but  rather  would 
"  flee  unto  the  mountains,"  seeking  a  home  in  seques- 
tered places  of  Judea  until  the  war  ended. 

After  the  end  of  the  war  the  Christians  of  Palestine 
found  themselves  in  a  sadly  isolated  position.  The 
Jews  could  not  forgive  their  refusal  to  share  in  the  re- 
bellion, and  though  now  unable  to  persecute,  hated 
them  more  heartily  than  ever.  And  Gentile  Christians 
could  have  no  sympathy  with  their  extreme  legalistic 
ideas  and  their  claim  to  be  the  elect  remnant  of  the 
Lord's  people  to  whom  all  His  promises  were  re- 
stricted. Thus  left  to  themselves  they  grew  more  nar- 
row, conceited  and  bitter.  Their  poverty  caused  them 
to  be  called  Ebionites  ("  poor  men  ")  ;  and  their  in- 
creasing rejection  of  Christian  doctrines,  especially 
those  set  forth  by  Paul,  brought  about  their  condemna- 
tion as  heretics.  This  was  in  the  second  and  third  cen- 
turies ;  they  survived  for  a  time  longer,  but  finally  dis- 


THE  LATER  CHURCH  IN  PALESTINE      273 

appeared.  That  which  Paul  had  laboured  to  pre- 
vent— the  split  of  the  church  into  a  Jewish  and  a  Gen- 
tile section — was  thus  brought  about  by  the  war;  but 
the  Jewish  section  was  left  so  small  and  weak  that 
henceforth  it  had  no  influence.  The  danger  of  a 
dominant  Palestinian  mother-church,  whose  natural 
Judaistic  tendencies  would  be  nourished  bj  its  environ- 
ment, was  forever  removed.  And  the  privileged  posi- 
tion claimed  by  the  Jewish  Christian  was  destroyed, 
not  so  much  by  the  logic  of  Paul  as  by  the  sterner  and 
more  unanswerable  logic  of  events.  As  for  the  Jews 
in  foreign  lands,  the  destruction  of  their  sacred  city  in- 
creased their  hatred  of  all  Gentiles,  especially  of  Chris- 
tians, so  that  henceforth  there  was  little  possibility  of 
inducing  them  to  accept  Jesus  as  the  Christ* 

3.     The  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews. 

The  letter  that  we  call  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews 
did  not,  of  course,  bear  any  title  originally,  but  has 
been  thus  designated  as  far  back  as  we  can  trace  it. 
Many  able  scholars  to-day  think  that  it  was  written  to 
Gentiles  and  not  to  Hebrews,  but  this  seems,  as  West- 
cott  says,  '^  an  ingenious  paradox.''  The  letter  presup- 
poses in  its  readers  a  knowledge  of  Jewish  institutions 
and  an  interest  in  Judaism  such  as  few  Gentile  Chris- 
tians would  have.  Even  to-day  much  of  it  is  unat- 
tractive to  the  average  Christian  because  he  lacks  a 
familiar  acquaintance  with  the  Old  Testament.  Like 
the  First  Epistle  of  John  it  has  no  address;  but  it  is 
evidently  written  to  some  particular  church  in  which 
the  writer  has  once  had  a  place  (13:19),  and  with 
whose  condition,  therefore,  he  is  well  acquainted.  The 
church  has  borne  persecution  (10:  32  f.),  but  not  unto 
martyrdom     (12:4),    though    some    in    bonds    have 


274  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

claimed  its  generous  aid  and  sympathy  (6:10; 
10:34).  Its  members  know  Timothy  who  with  the 
writer  is  about  to  visit  them  (13:23).  The  temple 
worship  has  charms  for  them,  and  they  are  tempted 
to  go  back  to  Judaism, — so  the  whole  epistle  indicates. 
This  description  would  suit  many  Jewish-Christian 
churches,  but  not  Jerusalem  which  had  resisted  unto 
blood,  and  was  a  recipient  rather  than  a  bestower  of 
alms,  and  would  not  be  interested  in  Timothy  nor 
willing  to  accept  the  authoritative  tone  of  the  letter. 
Some  church  where  Gentile  vices  were  prevalent 
(13:4),  yet  near  enough  to  Jerusalem  for  the  temple 
worship  to  be  strongly  attractive,  would  seem  to  be 
indicated.  Caesarea  is  a  good  guess.  It  must  have 
ministered  to  Paul  and  others  in  bonds;  it  would  know 
Timothy  and  various  companions  of  Paul;  it  would  be 
made  up  largely  of  Jewish  Christians;  and  during  the 
troublesome  days  of  the  rising  revolution  it  would  be 
persecuted  by  the  Jews.  Also,  the  church  at  Caesarea 
originally  had  in  it  Italians, — Cornelius  and  his 
friends  of  the  Italian  cohort  (Acts  10:1  f.)  ;  so  pos- 
sibly the  Italians  who  send  greetings  (Heb.  13:23), 
are  of  that  same  cohort  now  stationed  elsewhere. 

If  the  readers  of  the  epistle  are  a  problem,  still 
more  is  the  writer.  All  scholars  agree  that  the  letter 
is  not  by  Paul.  Though  its  teachings  have  a  Pauline 
flavour,  they  are  from  an  independent  standpoint;  and 
the  writer  expressly  places  himself  among  the  Chris- 
tians who  had  received  the  gospel  from  them  that 
heard  Jesus  originally  (2:1-4).  He  writes  excellent 
Greek, — better  than  that  of  any  other  ISTew  Testament 
author;  and  his  polished  style  and  full  vocabulary 
show  him  to  be  a  finished  scholar.  ^^  He  was  without 
doubt,  the  finest  and  most  cultured  literary  genius  of 


THE  LATER  CHURCH  IN  PALESTINE      275 

the  primitive  church"  (McGiffert).  "  That  he  writes 
as  a  literary  man,"  says  Ropes,  "  is  one  of  the  reasons 
why  his  epistle  is  far  less  interesting  than  those  of  the 
less  trained  and  more  himian  Paul.  *  *  *  We  find 
ourselves  in  an  intellectual  and  almost  dogmatic  at- 
mosphere." Martin  Luther  thought  that  Apollos,  the 
^'  learned  Alexandrian,  mighty  in  the  scriptures," 
might  be  the  author,  especially  as  the  epistle  shows 
both  the  Alexandrian  school  of  thought  and  the  influ- 
ence of  Paul.  But  Luke,  Silas,  Barnabas,  Mark  and 
others  have  been  put  forward.  The  latest  claimant  is 
none  other  than  Priscilla!  Harnack  suggests  that  she 
wrote  it,  and  that  later  on  her  name  was  suppressed 
because  of  monkish  prejudice  against  women  teachers. 
"  Who  it  was  that  wrote  the  epistle,  God  only  knows," 
said  Origen  in  the  third  century;  and  the  uncertainty 
about  its  authorship  caused  hesitancy  about  putting  it 
in  the  New  Testament  canon.  Finally  it  was  included, 
and  to  make  its  place  more  secure  it  was  ascribed  to 
Paul;  yet  the  position  where  it  stands  in  Western 
manuscripts, — after  all  the  epistles  of  Paul  instead  of 
among  his  longer  ones, — shows  the  doubt  about  this  as- 
scription. 

The  date  of  the  epistle  is  likewise  a  matter  of  un- 
certainty. Apparently  the  temple  worship  is  still 
going  on ;  and  certainly  if  the  date  is  after  70  a.d.,  the 
destruction  of  the  temple  would  be  mentioned,  and  the 
temptation  to  go  back  to  Judaism  would  have  largely 
ceased.  But  it  cannot  be  many  years  earlier ;  for  those 
who  were  the  first  teachers  have  passed  away  (13:7; 
2:3),  and  there  has  been  time  for  religious  growth 
(5:12)  though,  as  the  many  warnings  indicate, 
growth  has  not  come  as  it  should.  A  critical  day  is 
close  at  hand   (10:25;  8:13),  and  severer  sufferings 


276  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

are  to  be  expected  (12:  4;  13:  13).  The  savage  perse- 
cution of  the  Christians  at  Rome  by  l^ero  (64  a.d.) 
may  have  caused  this  expectation;  for  a  report  of  it 
would  quickly  spread  throughout  the  empire,  rousing 
the  provincial  officials  to  activity  against  the  hated 
sect.  We  are  tempted  to  fix  the  date  at  68  a.d.,  when 
forty  years  since  the  church  began  were  just  ending 
(3:9),  when  the  carnage  in  Galilee  and  the  struggle 
for  the  throne  of  Rome  would  seem  the  first  stage  in 
the  fulfilment  of  Haggai's  prophecy  (12:26),  and 
when  Timothy  would  be  set  at  liberty  by  the  death  of 
Paul  (13 :  23).  But  the  likelihood  is  small  that  Chris- 
tians would  incline  to  go  back  to  Judaism  after  the 
Jewish  revolt  had  become  complete.  A  date  just  be- 
fore that  revolt  is  more  probable.  Several  causes  then 
combined  to  draw  Jewish  Christians  back  from  their 
new  faith  to  the  old.  There  was  the  intense  outburst 
of  national  spirit  with  which  they  could  not  but  sym- 
pathize, and  which  seemed  to  demand  that  in  no  re- 
spect should  they  separate  themselves  from  their 
brethren.  There  was  the  increasing  evidence  that  the 
Jews  as  a  nation  were  not  going  to  accept  Jesus  and, 
therefore,  that  it  would  be  more  and  more  difficult  for 
Jewish  Christians  to  join  with  them  in  keeping  the 
ordinances  of  the  Law.  There  was  the  probability  of 
severer  suffering  inflicted  by  the  Roman  government 
at  the  instigation  of  the  Jews  and  of  the  Gentiles  also. 
And  there  was  the  failure  of  the  coming  of  Christ 
which  they  had  confidently  expected  would  bring  the 
final  answer  to  all  the  difficulties  about  the  ignomini- 
ous ending  of  His  public  ministry,  and  would  initiate 
the  triumphant  establishment  of  His  rule  over  Pales- 
tine and  the  whole  world.  Added  to  all  these  was  the 
loss  of  tried  and  trusted  leaders.     The  apostles  were 


THE  LATER  CHURCH  IN  PALESTINE     277 

scattered  or  dead,  and  James  the  Just  had  suffered 
martyrdom,  leaving  the  Jewish  Christians  as  sheep 
without  a  shepherd.  No  wonder  they  longed  for  the 
old  familiar  fold. 

The  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews  was  written  to  the  men 
who  were  drawing  back  and  disposed  to  return  to 
Judaism  again.  Its  keyword  is  "  Better,''  thirteen 
times  repeated;  and  its  aim  is  to  set  forth  the  superi- 
ority of  the  new  faith  over  the  old,  or  the  sufficiency 
and  finality  of  Christianity  as  the  last  and  clearest 
divine  revelation  (1:1-4).  All  that  Judaism  contains 
is  only  a  type  and  foreshadowing  of  what  is  to  be 
found  in  Christianity;  and  the  old  covenant  is  nigh 
to  vanishing  away,  giving  place  to  the  new  and  better. 
But  the  epistle  is  not  an  academic  discussion  of  the 
comparative  merits  of  Judaism  and  Christianity:  it 
is  preeminently  a  "word  of  exhortation"  (13:22). 
These  men  who  are  tempted  to  give  up  the  confession 
of  their  faith  are  wavering,  not  from  intellectual  diffi- 
culties but  from  a  lack  of  religious  earnestness.  They 
are  drifting  with  the  current  (2:1),  unwilling  to  press 
on  to  perfection  (6 : 1  f.),  failing  to  consider  the  signifi- 
cance of  Christ  and  His  work  (3:1;  12:3).  Their 
former  consecration  has  disappeared  in  moral  and 
spiritual  apathy  and  decay;  and  they  greatly  need  to 
be  warned  against  an  evil  heart  of  unbelief  (2:1-3; 
3:12).  The  epistle,  therefore,  is  fully  as  much  prac- 
tical as  doctrinal;  but,  unlike  Paul,  the  writer  does 
not  make  one  main  division  between  the  two, — ^he  fol- 
lows each  doctrinal  statement  immediately  with  a 
practical  exhortation  "  to  give  the  more  earnest  heed 
*  *  *  for  how  shall  we  escape  if  we  neglect  so 
great  salvation." 

The  opening  sentence  of  the  epistle  sets  forth  the 


278  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

truth  upon  which  all  that  follows  is  based.  From  the 
Son  of  God,  sole  agent  in  creation,  revelation  and  re- 
demption, we  have  received  a  full  and  final  message, 
of  which  the  words  of  the  ancient  prophets  were  only 
multiform  fragments  (1:  1-3).  His  superiority  to  the 
angels,  through  whom  God's  message  was  thought  to 
come,  is  shown  by  the  very  name.  Son,  as  contrasted 
with  that  of  angel,  i.e.,  messenger  (4-14).  Therefore, 
we  ought  to  give  to  His  words  more  earnest  heed  than 
to  any  others,  inasmuch  as  all  things  are  subject  to 
Him  (2 :  l-8a).  True,  for  a  little  while  He  was  made 
lower  than  the  angels,  sharing  our  flesh  and  blood  and 
tasting  of  death ;  but  this  was  that  through  His  suffer- 
ings He  might  be  the  author  of  our  salvation  (8b-18). 
Or,  if  we  contrast  Him  with  Moses,  again  it  is  the 
difference  between  a  son  and  a  servant ;  and  the  danger 
of  rejecting  His  word  is  correspondingly  great: — the 
rest  that  remaineth  for  the  people  of  God,  which  those 
who  followed  Moses  and  Joshua  did  not  enter  into  be- 
cause of  their  disobedience,  will  not  be  gained  by  us, 
if  we  likewise  lack  faith  and  obedience  (3:1-4:13). 
Jesus  is  cur  Great  High  Priest,  full  of  that  sympathy 
which  gives  us  boldness  to  claim  His  help  (14-16). 
He  was  made  such  by  God  after  the  order  not  of 
Aaron  but  of  Melchizedek  (5:1-10).  This  is  a  sub- 
ject concerning  which,  the  writer  declares,  what  I  have 
to  say  is  properly  for  those  who  are  advanced  in  knowl- 
edge; whereas  you  are  still  in  the  infantile  stage,  and 
close  to  the  hopeless  condition  of  apostasy;  though  I 
say  this  rather  to  stir  you  up  than  to  discourage  you 
(5:11-6:12),  since  the  immutable  promises  of  God 
are  your  strong  encouragement  (6:13-20).  Christ's 
priesthood,  of  which  MelchizedeFs  is  the  type,  is  bet- 
ter than  Aaron's  because  it  is  universal,  eternal,  abso- 


THE  LATER  CHURCH  IN  PALESTINE      279 

lute  (7:1-28),  because  it  is  in  a  heavenly  sanctuary 
and  of  a  better  covenant  (8:1-13);  and  because  He 
offers  a  better  sacrifice,  purifying  us  by  His  own 
blood, — a  sacrifice  that  needs  not  to  be  repeated  often 
but  is  once  for  all  (9:1-10;  18).  Therefore,  let  us 
draw  near  Him  with  a  true  heart,  in  fulness  of  faith, 
in  holy  and  active  life,  conscious  of  the  fearful  fate 
of  those  who,  knowing  the  truth,  sin  wilfully 
(10:  19-31).  Let  remembrance  of  the  former  conflict 
of  suffering  make  you  bold  for  that  which  is  to  come, 
and  look  forward  steadfastly  to  the  coming  of  Christ, 
full  of  the  faith  that  is  unto  the  saving  of  the  soul 
(10:  32-39).  It  was  by  such  faith  that  the  long  line 
of  God's  great  servants  triumphed  in  the  past 
(11:1-40).  And  since  these  are  looking  down  upon 
us,  and  Jesus  is  the  author  and  perfecter  of  faith,  let 
us  endure  all  suffering,  remembering  that  God  sends 
it,  not  as  a  bitter  punishment  but  as  a  profitable, 
fatherly  chastening  (12:1-13).  A  life  of  peace  and 
holiness  should  be  pursued  with  even  more  care  and 
fear  under  the  dispensation  of  Jesus  than  under  that 
of  Moses  (14-29).  Love,  good  works,  and  steadfast- 
ness in  the  doctrine  are  enjoined  (13:  1-17)  ;  and  the 
epistle  closes  with  some  brief  personal  messages 
(18-25). 

In  Hebrews  we  find  a  view  of  the  Law  distinct  in 
many  ways  from  that  of  Paul.  Both  agree  that  the 
Law  was  of  divine  origin  and  was  a  preparation  for 
the  coming  of  Christ ;  but  while  Paul,  as  we  have  seen, 
thought  mainly  of  its  moral  requirements  and  the  way 
in  which  human  inability  to  meet  them  revealed  the 
need  of  a  divine  Saviour,  the  writer  of  Hebrews 
thought  rather  of  its  ritual  and  sacrifices  and  of  the  way 
in  which  these  foreshadowed  the  work  of  Christ.    With 


280  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

somewliat  of  Platonic  philosophy  he  held  that  heaven, 
**  the  world  to  come  whereof  we  speak''  (2:5)  is  the 
realm  of  realities,  and  that  earth  has  only  their  im- 
perfect, fleeting  shadows  and  symbols.  But  he  also 
held  that  faith  makes  that  future,  invisible  realm  a 
present,  actual  possession  for  the  Christian  (11:1; 
6:4-5).  So  while  all  the  Jewish  institutions  are 
merely  "  copies  of  the  things  in  heaven,"  "  a  shadow 
of  the  good  things  to  come,"  the  Christian  by  faith  has 
"the  very  image  of  those  things"  (9:23;  10:1). 
For  example,  the  tabernacle  which  Moses  made  accord- 
ing to  the  pattern  showed  him  in  the  mount,  was  an 
earthly,  imperfect  copy  or  symbol  of  the  true,  heavenly 
tabernacle  in  which  Christ  ever  ministers  (8:5,  9; 
11,  24),  and  into  which  His  followers  may  in  fulness 
of  faith  enter  even  now  (10:  19).  The  Law,  then,  was 
a  failure,  not  because  it  was  weak  through  the  flesh, 
as  Paul  would  affirm,  but  because  it  was  merely  an  in- 
distinct shadow,  faintly  portraying  the  Christian  reali- 
ties, and  meaningless  apart  from  faith.  Paul  reck- 
oned that  the  Law  no  more  had  any  value  for  the 
Christian,  and  so  doubtless  did  the  writer  of  Hebrews. 
But  would  the  man  who  longed  for  some  legalistic, 
ritualistic  form  of  religion  be  content  to  give  it  up  en- 
tirely ?  Would  he  not  feel  that  in  some  way  it  might 
be  filled  with  the  reality  it  lacked, — be  spiritualized 
and  retained.  A  Sabbath  that  truly  brought  the  rest 
of  God,  priests  who  served  under  Jesus  as  the  Great 
High  Priest,  sacrifices  that  truly  represented  or  repro- 
duced the  one  sacrifice  of  Christ, — were  these  forbid- 
den, and  would  they  not  be  helpful  for  Christian  liv- 
ing? Such  certainly  was  the  way  in  which  the  church 
in  later  centuries  reasoned  and  shaped  its  ritual  ac- 
cordingly.    It  had  its  sacred  days,  its  army  of  priests, 


THE  LATER  CHURCH  IN  PALESTINE      281 

and  its  sacrifice  of  the  mass.  And  the  rebukes  of  Paul 
and  the  warnings  of  Hebrews  sounded  in  ears  that 
heard  not. 

4.    The  Epistle  of  Jude. 

An  epistle,  little  in  size  but  large  in  problems,  is  that 
which  bears  the  name  of  Jude  or  Judas.  The  name 
was  a  very  common  one, — made  so,  perhaps,  by  the 
fame  of  Judas  Maccabaeus;  but  the  writer  is  further 
described  as  the  brother  of  James,  another  very  com- 
mon name  yet  in  this  instance  doubtless  meaning  James 
the  Just.  We  know  that  one  of  the  four  brothers  of 
Jesus  was  named  Jude  (Mk  6:3),  and  that  like  the 
others  he  did  not  accept  Him  as  Messiah  until  after  the 
resurrection.  That  is  all  we  know  about  him.  Eusebius 
tells  us  that  the  emperor  Domitian  (81-96  a.d.)  or- 
dered the  relatives  of  Jesus  to  be  brought  before  him, 
as  he  feared  they  might  head  an  insurrection.  The 
grandchildren  of  Jude  were  found  and  brought;  and 
they  proved  to  be  such  humble  peasants,  devoid  of 
earthly  ambition,  that  Domitian  dismissed  them  in  con- 
tempt. Evidently  Jude  was  then  dead,  or  he  would 
have  been  brought.  But  it  is  hard  to  believe  that  the 
Epistle  of  Jude  was  written  much  before  that  time.  It 
speaks  of  the  apostles  as  if  they  had  ceased  to  preach 
(17-18),  and  of  "the  faith"  as  something  formulated 
and  handed  down  from  an  earlier  generation  (3)  ;  and 
its  rebukes  reveal  a  development  of  gnosticism  and 
moral  corruption  much  beyond  what  we  have  found 
hitherto  in  the  church.  The  author^s  Jewish  name,  his 
familiarity  with  the  Old  Testament,  and  his  use  of  two 
Jewish  apocalypses  written  about  the  beginning  of  the 
century, — the  Book  of  Enoch  (14-15)  and  the  Assump- 
tion of  Moses  (9) — make  usf  sure  he  was  a  Jew.     His 


282  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

quotations  from  these  two  apocryphal  books  as  if  they 
were  historical  and  inspired,  produce  a  perplexing 
problem  in  inspiration,  and  were  probably  the  chief  rea- 
son why  the  epistle  had  to  struggle  for  a  place  in  the 
JSTew  Testament.  His  command  of  the  Greek  language 
suggests  that  he  learned  it  rather  late  in  life: — he  has 
a  vocabulary  of  stately,  sonorous,  sometimes  poetical 
Greek  words,  but  he  lacks  skill  in  the  formation  of  sen- 
tences. He  seems  to  be  familiar  with  Paul's  letters,  or 
at  least  with  the  Christian  terms  developed  by  Paul; 
and  the  phrase  "  our  common  salvation/'  as  well  as  the 
sins  he  condemns,  would  indicate  that  he  was  writing 
to  a  church  made  up  of  Gentiles  alone  or  of  both  Gen- 
tiles and  Jews.  If  so,  he  could  not  have  belonged  to 
the  narrow  Palestinian  Christians.  Despite  all  that 
suggests  the  contrary,  he  may  have  been  the  brother  of 
James.  Otherwise,  we  may  suppose  that  he  described 
himself  simply  as  "  Jude,  a  servant  of  Jesus  Christ," 
and  some  later  reader,  naturally  supposing  that  this 
Jude  was  the  brother  of  James,  added  that  identifica- 
tion as  a  memorandum  on  the  margin  of  the  manuscript 
whence  it  was  copied  into  the  text.  We  have  little 
means  of  determining  the  church  to  which  Jude  wrote. 
One  made  up  in  whole  or  larger  part  of  Gentiles,  near 
enough  to  Palestine  to  arouse  the  interest  of  a  Jewish 
Christian  teacher,  and  in  a  community  where  sensuality 
and  godlessness  abounded,  would  meet  the  require- 
ments. Antioch  in  Syria  is  a  favourite  conjecture,  but 
Alexandria  and  other  cities  have  been  suggested. 

The  epistle  is  a  hasty,  forcible  note  to  warn  the 
church  against  certain  new  teachers  whose  profession  of 
Christian  piety  is  only  a  cloak  for  foulest  lust  and  ava- 
rice. Though  we  have  but  a  very  general  description 
of  their  teaching  and  acts,   their  errors  seem   to   be 


THE  LATER  CHURCH  IN  PALESTINE      283 

practical  rather  than  doctrinal;  they  deny  Christ  by 
turning  the  grace  of  God  into  lasciviousness  (4)  ;  they 
are  filled  with  pride,  and  scoff  at  all  spiritual  agen- 
cies (8);  they  are  "shepherds  that  without  fear  feed 
themselves"  (12).  That  a  church  should  endure  such 
men  and  even  follow  them,  shows  how  the  early  enthu- 
siasm and  consecration  are  dying  out,  and  lusts  once 
banished  are  creeping  back.  There  was  always  dan- 
ger, as  we  have  seen,  that  the  Pauline  doctrine  of  lib- 
erty might  be  turned  into  an  excuse  for  libertinism ;  and 
the  gnostic  teaching  about  the  material  world  could 
justify  sensuality  as  well  as  inspire  asceticism.  The 
opportunity  of  base  men  in  a  simple  Christian  com- 
munity with  its  new  freedom  of  the  sexes  and  its  night 
meetings  and  love  feasts  is  evident,  especially  when  the 
members  had  recently  come  out  from  a  licentious  pagan 
religion,  and  were  still  imperfectly  trained  in  Christian 
virtues.  These  fleshly,  arrogant  teachers  deserved  the 
sweeping  condemnation  of  Jude;  and  those  who  were 
inclined  to  follow  them  needed  the  warnings  he  heaps 
up  from  Old  Testament  fates  of  those  who  gave  them- 
selves over  to  lust  and  insolence.  Yet  there  is  nothing 
of  the  Pharisaic  spirit  in  Jude's  heart,  but  rather  a 
Christlike  pity  and  yearning  to  save  (22 :  23). 


XVII 
THE  SYISTOPTIC  GOSPELS 

BY  the  end  of  the  Apostolic  Age  nearly  all  remem- 
brance of  what  Jesus  gaid  and  did  except  what 
is  recorded  in  our  Four  Gospels  seems  to  have 
ceased ;  for  only  some  sayings  of  little  value  and  doubt- 
ful authenticity,  and  a  few  slight  incidents  besides  that 
of  the  woman  taken  in  adultery,  which  finally  was  in- 
serted in  our  gospels,  came  down  by  tradition  and  were 
preserved  by  second  century  writers.  To  be  sure,  the 
statement  of  John  21 :  25  that  a  record  of  what  Jesus 
did  would  fill  the  world  with  books,  suggests  that  its 
writer  was  acquainted  with  a  host  of  unwritten  details ; 
but  nothing  confirms  this.  The  lack  of  reference  to  the 
life  of  Jesus  in  the  'New  Testament  epistles  indicates 
that  Christians  in  the  early  part  of  the  Apostolic  Age 
had  no  keen  historical  interest  in  the  earthly  years  of 
their  Lord.  The  period  was  one  when  an  intense  reali- 
zation of  His  presence  spiritually,  and  a  confident  ex- 
pectation of  His  return  bodily,  deterred  the  disciples 
from  dwelling  on  the  past.  We  do  not  write  biogra- 
phies of  friends  who  are  with  us,  or  are  coming  to- 
morrow. There  may  have  been  also  a  feeling  that  in 
His  earthly  ministry  Jesus  was  so  hindered  by  unbelief 
and  hatred  that  He  could  not  fully  reveal  His  power  or 
teach  His  truth,  and  that,  therefore,  it  was  not  wise 
to  emphasize  the  past  as  His  perfect  manifestation. 
Nevertheless,  the  practical  needs  as  well  as  the  natural 
curiosity  of  the  early  believers  would  counterbalance 

284 

/ 


THE  SYNOPTIC  GOSPEL  285 

this  indifference  or  aversion  to  the  past,  and  seek  from 
the  apostolic  eye-witnesses  some  account  of  what  Jesus 
had  done  and  taught.  And  before  the  first  generation 
of  Christians  had  largely  passed  away,  the  gospel  ^ory 
had  taken  definite  form  and  permanent  record  in  our 
first  three  gospels,  which  from  their  interrelation  we 
call  the  Synoptic  Gospels.  The  process  by  which  this 
came  about  must  be  considered  at  length. 

1.     The  Oral  Gospel. 

The  story  of  what  they  had  seen  and  heard  when  with 
Jesus  must  have  formed  the  chief  part  of  "  the  apo^les' 
teaching"  in  the  days  immediately  after  Pentecost 
(Acts  2:42).  There  was  little  else  they  could  teach, 
because  they  themselves  had  barely  entered  upon  the 
great  new  world  of  Christian  experience ;  and  there  was 
nothing  that  the  early  converts,  most  of  whom  had 
never  known  Jesus,  would  find  more  interesting  or  ap- 
pealing. There  was  no  reason  for  putting  the  story 
into  writing  since  the  narrators  were  constantly  at 
hand ;  and  there  was  no  inclination  to  do  so,  because  an 
Oriental  feels  that  statements  most  sacred  and  inti- 
mate should  not  be  written  down  lest  profane  eyes  fall 
upon  them.  For  example,  the  Jewish  traditional  Law, 
which  was  deemed  most  holy,  was  transmitted  for  gen- 
erations by  grave  rabbis  who  taught  it  orally  to  little 
groups  of  reverent  disciples;  and  it  was  not  put  into 
writing  until  at  last  fear  arose  lest  all  who  knew  it  and 
could  teach  it  might  perish  by  persecution.  The  story 
of  Jesus,  told  by  the  apo^les,  would  at  first  contain 
only  such  incidents  as  answered  the  eager  questions  or 
evident  needs  of  their  hearers,  and  would  be  most  in- 
complete. Those  converts  who  returned  to  their  own 
homes  in  foreign  lands  soon  after  Pentecost  must  have 


286  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

carried  back  a  very  imperfect  evangel,  and  have  been 
correspondingly  crippled  as  tbej  tried  to  proclaim  it. 
And  had  the  church  at  Jerusalem  at  once  sent  forth 
missionaries  or  been  scattered  by  its  foes,  the  formation 
of  any  adequate  account  of  the  ministry  of  our  Lord 
V70uld  have  been  much  hindered  and  delayed.  But  in 
God's  providence  the  church  remained  for  some  time 
in  peace  and  union  at  Jerusalem  where  it  could  con- 
stantly look  to  the  apostles  for  the  gospel  facts.  And 
as  the  apostles  repeated  again  and  again  to  public  gath- 
erings and  to  individuals  the  things  concerning  Jesus, 
their  story  gradually  grew  more  complete  and  took  on  a 
stereotyped  form,  as  stories  told  over  and  over  inevit- 
ably do.     It  became  what  we  call  the  Oral  Gospel. 

What  this  Oral  Gospel  must  have  been,  we  can  with 
some  confidence  determine.  Because  the  apostles  spoke 
as  eye-witnesses  (Acts  1:  22),  it  would  begin  with  the 
great  Galilean  ministry, — the  preaching  of  John  and 
the  baptism  and  temptation  of  Jesus  serving  as  a  brief 
preface,  and  the  Judean  ministry,  which  but  few  had 
shared,  being  omitted  as  seemingly  unimportant  or  a 
failure.  And  because  the  motive  in  telling  it  was  a 
desire  to  convert  unbelievers  or  to  guide  the  brethren 
in  Christian  living,  it  would  not  be  in  any  strict  sense 
a  chronological  history  but  rather  a  selection  of  inci- 
dents and  sayings  that  proved  to  be  most  helpful.  It 
would  contain  many  of  the  miracles,  which  are  always 
impressive,  and  but  few  of  the  deeper  teachings  of 
Jesus,  since  these  teachings  do  not  hold  the  attention 
as  well  and  require  a  degree  of  spiritual  growth  before 
they  can  be  appreciated.  And  it  would  dwell  upon  the 
incidents  of  the  last  week,  the  tragedy  of  His  cruci- 
fixion, and  the  proofs  of  His  resurrection,  because  these 
are  the  most  sacred  scenes  in  Christ's  life,  and  make  the 


THE  SYNOPTIC  GOSPEL  287 

most  effective  evangelistic  appeal.  When  once  it  had 
taken  on  a  recognized,  definite  form,  it  would  be  treas- 
ured in  the  memory  of  the  hearers,  and  become  the  com- 
mon property  of  the  church.  Even  after  there  were  writ- 
ten gospels,  many  would  prefer  the  oral.  Papias,  who 
was  born  about  70  a.d.,  tells  how  he  questioned  those 
who  had  heard  the  apostles ;  ^^  for,"  he  says,  ''  I  did  not 
think  that  what  was  to  be  gotten  from  books  would 
profit  me  as  much  as  what  came  from  the  living  and 
abiding  voice."  And  Irenaeus,  who  was  born  some 
Mtj  years  later,  when  describing  how  he  heard  Poly- 
carp  tell  what  he  learned  about  Jesus,  says,  "  These 
things,  through  the  mercy  of  God  which  was  upon  me, 
I  then  listened  to  attentively,  noting  them  down,  not  on 
paper  but  in  my  heart ;  and  continually,  through  God's 
grace,  I  recall  them  accurately."  The  feeling  that  an 
oral  gospel  was  preeminently  in  the  heart  must  have 
been  shared  by  not  a  few. 

2.    The  Sayings  of  Jesus. 

Averse  though  the  disciples  may  have  been  to  put- 
ting in  writing  that  which  the  apostles  told  them,  they 
would  soon  find  good  reasons  for  doing  it  to  a  certain 
extent.  The  words  of  Jesus  are  not  as  easily  held  in 
memory  as  the  incidents  of  His  ministry,  and  exact- 
ness in  repeating  them  is  most  important;  so  a  hearer 
who  was  accustomed  to  make  memoranda  would  natur- 
ally write  down- a  saying  that  specially  interested  him, 
whether  he  wished  to  preserve  it  for  his  own  future 
use,  or  to  pass  it  on  to  a  friend.  In  the  old  rubbish 
heaps  of  Egypt  to-day  we  are  finding  ostraca, — ^broken 
bits  of  pottery,  the  cheapest,  handiest  and  most  lasting 
of  stationery, — on  which  are  single  texts  of  Scripture 
jotted  down  when   Christianity  was  still  new  on  the 


288  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

Nile.  We  have  found  there,  likewise,  fragments  of 
papyrus  manuscript  containing  a  series  of  short  verses, 
each  prefaced  by  the  words  "  Jesus  said."  These  illus- 
trate the  process  that  must  have  gone  on  at  Jerusalem. 
Whether  the  apostles  when  they  were  with  Jesug  made 
notes  of  what  He  said,  we  do  not  know.  The  one  most 
likely  to  do  it  was  Matthew,  whose  earlier  occupation 
as  a  tax  collector  may  have  accustomed  him  to  aid  his 
memory  by  his  pen.  But  we  may  be  sure  that  among 
those  who  listened  to  the  apostles  were  some  who  would 
write  down  the  most  memorable  sayings  of  Jesus  with 
or  without  a  statement  of  the  occasion  that  called  them 
forth. 

The  words  of  Jesus  most  desired  and  cherished  were 
those  that  might  serve  as  a  guide  in  daily  living  or 
bring  cheer  and  light  concerning  the  future ;  so  we  find 
that  precepts  for  conduct,  directions  and  encourage- 
ments concerning  prayer,  and  statements  about  the 
Lord's  coming  and  His  kingdom  form  the  larger  part  of 
what  has  been  preserved.  There  are  indications  that 
little  groups  of  His  sayings  bearing  upon  some  special 
subject  were  formed  and  circulated  before  any  larger 
collection  was  made.  But  larger  collections  would  fol- 
low; and  we  know  that  one  of  these  bore  the  name  of 
Matthew,  for  Papias,  writing  about  140  a.b.^  says, 
"Matthew  compiled  the  Sayings  (Logia)  in  the 
Hebrew  language,  and  each  one  interpreted  them  as  he 
was  able."  That  Papias  was  not  referring  to  our  pres- 
ent Gospel  of  Matthew  seems  clear,  because  that  Gospel 
bears  no  marks  of  being  a  translation  from  the  Hebrew 
(by  which  Papias  means  Aramaic,  cf.  Acts  21:40), 
and  Sayings  would  not  be  a  fitting  name  for  it.  Some 
such  collection,  as  we  shall  see,  was  one  of  the  sources 
used  by  the  authors  of  Matthew  and  Luke;  and  Eng- 


THE  SYNOPTIC  GOSPEL  289 

lish  scholars  are  inclined  to  believe  that  it  was  the  one 
mentioned  by  Papias ;  so  they  call  it  the  Logia,  though 
German  scholars  usually  call  it  simply  the  Q  (Quelle) 
document.  We  can  to  a  fairly  satisfactory  degree  re- 
construct this  document  from  Matthew  and  Luke;  and 
possibly  some  day  a  copy  of  it  may  be  discovered  in 
the  sands  of  Egypt  or  elsewhere. 

3.    The  Gospel  of  Mark. 

John  Mark,  though  in  a  subordinate  position,  played 
a  more  important  part  in  the  apostolic  church  than  we 
sometimes  realize.  The  fact  that  he  was  a  cousin  of 
Barnabas,  who  was  from  Cyprus,  and  that  he  had  a 
Eoman  name,  suggests  that  he  was  a  Hellenist ;  but  his 
family  in  the  early  days  of  the  church  lived  in  Jeru- 
salem, and  their  house  was  one  of  the  gathering-places 
of  the  church  (Acts  12:12).  Possibly  this  was  the 
house  where  Jesus  ate  the  Passover,  and  Mark  was  the 
young  man  who  barely  escaped  arrest  at  Gethsemane 
(Mark  14:  51).  When  Barnabas  and  Paul  went  back 
to  Antioch  after  the  famine  visit,  they  took  him  with 
them ;  and  on  the  first  missionary  journey  he  was  their 
attendant  as  far  as  Perga  (Acts  12:25;  13:5,  13). 
Because  he  forsook  them  at  that  point  Paul  would  not 
take  him  on  the  second  journey,  but  with  Barnabas 
he  made  another  tour  through  Cyprus  (15:37  f.). 
Later  on  he  made  his  peace  with  Paul,  and  became  his 
assistant  and  was  with  him  in  Rome  (Col.  4:10; 
Phile.  24).  During  the  second  imprisonment  he  was 
working  somewhere  in  one  of  Paul's  fields,  and  the 
apostle  bade  Timothy  pick  him  up  and  bring  him  along 
to  Rome  (II  Tim.  4:  11).  We  hear  of  him  once  more, 
doubtless  after  the  death  of  Paul,  as  being  with  Peter 
in  Babylon    (Rome)  ;   and  the  way  the   aged  apostle 


290  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

leans  on  him  is  shown  by  his  calling  him  "  my  son '' 
(I  Peter  5:13).  Tradition  says  he  travelled  with 
Peter  as  his  interpreter  because  the  Galilean  fisherman 
knew  little  Greek  and  less  Latin.  "  Useful  for  minis- 
tering "  is  what  Paul  pronounces  Mark :  words  of  high 
praise,  though  the  world  does  not  always  count 
them  so. 

The  origin  of  the  Gospel  of  Mark  is  stated  by 
Papias  as  follows :  "  Mark,  having  become  the  inter- 
preter of  Peter,  wrote  down  accurately,  though  indeed 
not  in  order,  whatever  he  remembered  of  the  things 
said  and  done  by  Christ.  For  he  had  neither  heard 
the  Lord  nor  accompanied  Him;  but  afterwards,  as  I 
said,  he  accompanied  Peter  who  used  to  suit  his  teach- 
ings to  the  needs  of  his  hearers  without  attempting  to 
give  an  orderly  arrangement  of  the  Lord's  words;  so 
that  Mark  cannot  be  blamed  for  thus  having  written 
down  some  things  as  he  remembered  them.  Por  of 
one  thing  he  was  careful, — to  omit  nothing  of  what  he 
had  heard  and  to  state  nothing  falsely."  If  we  accept 
the  statement, — and  there  seems  little  reason  why  we 
should  not, — the  Gospel  of  Mark  is  the  story  of  Jesus 
as  Peter  used  to  tell  it  on  his  evangelistic  tours.  Not 
that  Peter  would  necessarily  give  all  of  it  at  one  time, 
or  that  he  would  follow  the  order  we  find  in  the 
Gospel.  As  Papias  suggests,  he  would  select  the  por- 
tions suited  to  the  needs  of  his  hearers.  For  example, 
he  might  tell  the  story  of  the  resurrection  first  of  all, 
to  hold  the  attention  of  a  strange  audience, — even  as 
Paul  started  to  do  at  Athens.  When  Mark  put  the 
whole  in  writing,  he  would  naturally  choose  an  order 
more  chronological.  The  Gospel  of  Mark,  then,  may 
be  accepted  as  practically  the  Oral  Gospel  framed  by 
Peter  and  the  others  at  Jerusalem.     The  book  itself 


THE  SYNOPTIC  GOSPEL  291 

confirms  this  connection  with  Peter.  Its  contents  are 
the  same  as  those  outlined  in  the  report  of  what  Peter 
told  Cornelius  about  Jesus  (Acts  10:37-42),  and  are 
evidently  chosen  for  evangelistic  purposes.  It  has  a 
directness  and  rapidity  of  narration,  a  conversational 
tone,  a  use  of  colloquial  terms,  and  a  lack  of  literary 
finish,  that  make  us  feel  we  are  listening  to  the  plain 
tale  of  an  unlettered  man  whose  sole  object  is  to  hold 
our  attention  until  he  has  made  us  realize  that  Jesus 
is  the  Son  of  God.  It  is  the  story  of  an  eye-witness 
who  gives  certain  minute  and  graphic  details,  not  be- 
cause they  are  of  any  importance,  but  because  they 
stand  out  distinctly  in  his  recollection  (e.g.,  4:36-38; 
6:  39;  10:  50).  And  when  we  note  its  partial  or  total 
omission  of  incidents  in  which  Peter  played  a  promi- 
nent part, — the  call  of  the  first  four  disciples,  the 
walking  on  the  water,  the  promise  of  the  rock  and  the 
keys,  the  question  about  forgiving  a  brother,  the  pay- 
ment of  the  half-shekel, — we  are  increasingly  con- 
vinced that  the  narrator  was  Peter.  It  is  the  story 
of  a  faithful  witness  who  does  not  hesitate  to  give  the 
unvarnished  facts,  e.g.,  that  Jesus  was  a  carpenter, 
that  his  friends  at  one  time  thought  him  crazy,  that 
in  order  to  open  a  blind  man's  eyes  and  heal  a  deaf 
and  tongue-tied  man  he  had  to  try  more  than  once. 
Matthew  and  Luke  omit  these  because  it  seems  hardly 
reverent  to  state  them,  or  because  they  may  be  stum- 
bling-blocks to  faith.  The  narrator  describes  the  life 
of  his  Lord  in  a  familiar  way  because  he  has  shared 
it  familiarly;  and  his  description  makes  us  see  Jesus 
most  nearly  as  the  disciples  themselves  saw  Him. 
Through  some  mischance,  which  we  can  only  surmise, 
the  closing  leaves  of  this  Gospel  were  lost;  and  we 
lack  what  may  have  been  a  most  valuable  account  of 


292  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

the  resurrection  appearances.  The  present  ending, 
16 :  9-20,  as  also  a  shorter  ending  found  in  some  manu- 
scripts, is  an  attempt  to  supply  the  deficiency;  it  re- 
veals the  second  century  emphasis  of  the  efficacy  of 
baptism,  but  for  the  life  of  Jesus  it  is  too  late  to  be 
of  value. 

Eusebius  says  that  Mark  wrote  the  Gospel  after 
both  Peter  and  Paul  were  dead;  but  Clement  of  Alex- 
andria says  he  wrote  it  before  Peter  died.  Possibly 
both  statements  are  correct,  and  there  were  two  edi- 
tions. Translating  it  to  audience  after  audience, 
Mark  would  soon  know  Peter's  story  verbatim;  and 
nothing  is  more  likely  than  that  some  wealthy  Chris- 
tian would  ask  him  to  dictate  it  to  slaves  who  were 
trained  amanuenses,  that  he  might  have  copies  to  send 
to  friends  or  to  keep  after  the  apostle  was  gone.  And 
when  Peter  died  there  would  be  new  reason  why  the 
story  should  be  preserved  in  writing;  and  Mark  when 
doing  this  would  naturally  adapt  it  to  a  special  circle 
of  readers  and  might  amplify  it.  In  its  present  form 
the  narrative  is  evidently  prepared  for  Roman  readers, 
e.g.,  Latin  words  are  sometimes  used  (6:27;  12:15; 
15:16,  39),  the  Roman  equivalent  is  given  with 
Jewish  money  (12:42),  Jewish  customs  are  ex- 
plained (7:2-4;  14:12),  and  the  Aramaic  words  of 
Jesus,  repeatedly  quoted,  are  always  translated 
(3:17;  5:41;  7:11,  34  et  al.).  The  parables  in 
4 :  1-34  bear  marks  of  having  been  taken  from  a  col- 
lection of  parables;  and  the  long  eschatalogical  dis- 
course of  13 :  1-37  seems  to  have  come  from  a  special 
written  source.  If  there  were  two  editions  of  the  Gos- 
pel, and  if  our  present  text  rests  upon  both  of  them, 
then  certain  peculiarities  of  it  may  be  explained  with- 
out denying  Mark's   authorship.      These   are  not   im- 


THE  SYNOPTIC  GOSPEL  293 

portant  enough  to  be  considered  here.  What  we  should 
specially  note  concerning  Mark  is  that  it  gives  us  the 
earliest  form  of  the  gospel  story,  our  closest  approach 
to  the  Twelve  as  they  tell  about  their  Master.  This  is 
the  story  they  went  forth  telling  to  the  nations,  not 
preaching  a  theology  but  proclaiming  the  facts  of  their 
Lord's  life,  and  trusting  to  the  simple  presentation  of 
them  for  creation  of  faith  in  Him.  Even  to-day  these 
facts  thus  told  are  the  best  evangelistic  instrument; 
and  the  Gospel  of  Mark  is  one  of  the  first  books  to  be 
translated  in  any  mission  field  because  it  is  so  eft'ective 
in  gaining  the  attention  and  impressing  the  thought  of 
a  man  who  has  never  heard  of  Jesus. 

4.    The  Gospel  of  Matthev^r. 

It  was  believed  in  the  early  centuries  that  Matthew 
wrote  the  Gospel  bearing  his  name,  and  wrote  it  in 
Hebrew  (Aramaic) ;  but  the  book  itself  bears  witness 
to  the  contrary.  A  translation,  no  matter  how  well 
done,  can  always  be  detected  by  the  influence  of  the 
original  on  the  translator's  vocabulary  and  style;  yet 
nothing  in  our  Gospel  of  Matthew  smacks  of  Aramaic. 
Moreover,  there  is  incorporated  in  Matthew  almost  the 
whole  of  Mark  with  its  Greek  reproduced  at  times 
most  minutely;  such  reproduction  would  be  impossible 
if  Matthew  had  been  written  in  Aramaic  and  then  put 
into  Greek.  As  for  its  authorship,  the  use  of  Mark 
as  one  main  source  is  strongly  against  the  theory  that 
the  apostle  Matthew  was  the  author;  an  apostle  would 
hardly  thus  base  his  own  record  of  Jesus  upon  what  a 
Christian  of  the  second  generation  had  written,  even 
if  the  latter  did  have  Peter  as  his  authority.  The 
tradition  of  a  Hebrew  original  and  of  Matthew's  au- 
thorship  may   have    arisen    from    what   Papias    states 


294  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

about  the  Logia ;  nevertlieless,  it  is  so  well  establislied 
that  there  would  seem  to  be  some  measure  of  truth  in 
it.  Perhaps  someone  who  had  Matthew's  Logia,  either 
in  Aramaic  or  already  translated  into  Greek^  came 
across  Mark's  Gospel,  and  conceived  the  happy  idea  of 
combining  the  two  in  one,  thus  joining  the  words  of 
Jesus  with  the  deeds  of  Jesus.  He  copied  Mark  with 
much  freedom,  having  himself  a  knowledge  of  the 
Oral  Gospel  which  lies  behind  it ;  and  he  added  various 
matters,  such  as  the  birth  of  Jesus  and  sundry  deeds 
of  Peter,  which  he  had  gained  from  other  sources,  in 
all  less  than  one  eighth  of  the  whole.  While  in  gen- 
eral he  followed  Mark's  order,  he  was  fond  of  group- 
ing by  topics ;  and  he  kept  Matthew's  Sayings  of  Jesus 
together  in  long  passages,  such  as  the  one  we  call  the 
Sermon  on  the  Mount.  When  it  was  completed,  the 
book  bore  the  name  of  Matthew  because  it  was  con- 
sidered simply  an  enlargement  of  his  Logia.  Who  the 
compiler  was,  cannot  be  known.  Of  course  it  is  not 
impossible  that  Matthew  himself  was  the  man;  but  far 
more  probably  it  was  some  Christian  Jew  living  not 
far  from  Palestine,  possibly  in  Antioch. 

The  Gospel  of  Matthew  belongs  to  the  little  group 
of  ISTew  Testament  books  prepared  specially  for  Jewish 
Christians.  Many  things  reveal  this: — its  numerous 
quotations  from  the  Old  Testament,  its  pains  to  point 
out  fulfilment  of  prophecy,  its  view  of  the  Law  as  not 
destroyed  but  completed  by  Jesus,  and  especially  the 
evident  purpose  of  the  writer  to  show  that  Jesus  is  the 
long-expected  Messiah  and  His  Kingdom  is  the  true 
Messianic  Kingdom,  which  He  offered  to  the  Jews, 
who  rejected  both  it  and  Him,  and  for  this  reason  have 
now  as  a  nation  been  rejected  while  the  Kingdom  is 
offered  to  the  whole  world.     Mark  is  an  unstudied  re- 


THE  SYNOPTIC  GOSPEL  295 

cital  of  precious  reminiscences  to  make  men  see  Jesus 
as  men  saw  Him  in  His  public  ministry.  Matthew  is 
a  presentation  of  the  facts  of  Jesus'  life  to  bring  out 
clearly  His  Messiahship;  it  is  an  argument  as  much  as 
a  narrative,  and,  like  the  Epistle  to  Hebrews,  was  pre- 
pared for  those  who  were  tempted  to  give  up  their  ac- 
ceptance of  Jesus  as  the  Messiah.  Such  strengthening 
of  faith  by  a  special  survey  of  the  life  and  words  of 
their  Lord  was  greatly  needed  by  wavering  Jewish 
Christians  in  the  excitement  preceding  and  during  the 
revolt  against  Rome,  when  every  Jewish  heart  was 
filled  with  hopes  of  a  political  kingdom,  and  again  in 
the  somber  days  immediately  after  the  fall  of  Jeru- 
salem, when  the  mystery  of  God's  dealings  with  His 
chosen  people  lay  like  a  pall  upon  every  son  of  Israel, 
even  the  Christian  Jew.  We  may,  therefore,  with 
some  confidence  date  the  book  not  long  before  or  after 
70  A.D.  when,  as  certain  passages  indicate,  the  tragic 
events  in  Palestine  were  considered  by  the  writer  to  be 
the  immediate  preliminaries  to  the  coming  of  Christ. 
Though  written  by  a  Jewish  Christian,  the  Gospel  of 
Matthew,  by  its  catholic  spirit,  its  emphasis  of  the 
teachings  of  Jesus,  its  logical  arrangement  of  contents, 
and  its  place  at  the  beginning  of  the  New  Testament, 
has  gained  more  readers  than  any  other  gospel,  thus 
making  it  "  the  most  important  book  in  the  world." 

5.     The  Gospel  of  Luke. 

The  Gospel  of  Luke  is  unquestionably  by  the  same 
author  as  the  Book  of  Acts;  and  the  proofs  that  this 
author  was  "  the  beloved  physician  "  and  companion 
of  Paul,  have  already  been  considered.  The  purpose 
of  the  book  is  plainly  stated  in  its  preface: — that 
Theophilus  may  be  assured  of  the  Christian  facts  pre- 


296  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

vioiisly  learned  by  him  from  the  lips  of  others.  Many 
are  undertaking  to  write  a  life  of  Jesus,  and  Luke  is 
stirred  up  by  their  example  to  do  the  same,  being  par- 
ticularly fitted  for  the  task  by  special  opportunities  to 
gain  information  and  by  unusual  industry  in  research 
(1:  1-4).  His  main  sources  prove  to  be  the  Logia  and 
Mark, — the  same  as  those  the  author  of  Matthew  used ; 
but  he  has  collected  much  additional  information.  In 
his  travels  with  Paul  he  would  often  meet  men  who 
had  been  with  Jesus,  and  would  seize  the  opportunity 
to  question  them.  His  account  of  the  birth  and  child- 
hood seems  based  on  some  Aramaic  document  which 
he  may  have  obtained  at  Jerusalem.  He  attempts  to 
arrange  his  material  in  chronological  order,  breaking 
up  the  Logia  so  as  to  put  the  words  of  Jesus  in  their 
original  setting;  but  he  has  little  to  guide  him  except 
Mark's  order,  and  much  of  his  original  material  he 
puts  together  in  one  long  passage  (9:51-18:  14)  with 
the  vague  statement  that  the  time  was  when  Jesus  was 
journeying  toward  Jerusalem  (9:  51;  13:  22;  17:  11). 
A  chronology  of  the  life  of  Christ  was  as  impossible 
for  him  as  for  those  who  attempt  it  to-day.  The  Gos- 
pel of  Luke,  then,  is  a  history  of  Jesus,  written  with 
full  sympathy  and  much  literary  ability  by  an  edu- 
cated Gentile  Christian,  an  historian  by  nature,  who, 
though  not  himself  a  witness  of  what  he  narrates,  was 
for  years  intimately  among  those  who  had  been  wit- 
nesses. 

Luke  as  a  Gentile  wrote  for  his  Gentile  brethren, 
Theophilus,  who  may  have  been  a  Roman  knight,  and 
others.  He  substitutes  Gentile  terms  for  Jewish,  e.g., 
master  or  teacher  for  rabbi,  the  Skull  for  Golgotha, 
Zealot  for  Cananaean ;  he  calls  the  little  sheet  of  water 
in  Galilee  a  lake  and  not  a  sea;  he  explains  that  the 


THE  SYNOPTIC  GOSPEL  297 

Passover  is  the  feast  of  unleavened  bread  and  that 
Capernaum  is  a  city  of  Galilee  and  Arimathea  a  city 
of  the  Jews.  That  Italian  readers  are  specially  in  his 
thought  is  shown  in  Acts  by  his  taking  for  granted 
that  they  will  know  just  where  The  Market  of  Appius 
and  The  Three  Taverns  are,  though  he  carefully  states 
the  location  of  the  Mount  of  Olives  (Acts  28:15; 
1:  12).  There  is  a  catholicity  of  spirit  in  this  Gospel 
which  makes  it  peculiarly  attractive.  As  the  genealogy 
of  Jesus  is  carried  back  to  Adam  instead  of  begun  with 
Abraham,  so  He  is  set  forth  as  the  Saviour  of  all, — 
Samaritans,  Gentiles,  publicans,  outcasts, — as  well  as 
of  Jews.  There  is  a  marked  interest  in  women  and 
home  life,  and  frequent  emphasis  of  prayer  by  both 
the  example  and  the  teachings  of  Jesus.  All  this 
makes  Luke  "  the  most  beautiful  book  ever  written " 
(Renan).  The  attitude  of  the  writer  towards  Jesus 
and  the  apostles  is  that  of  a  Christian  of  the  second 
generation.  More  even  than  in  Matthew  all  details 
are  omitted  that  might  be  thought  inconsistent  with 
Jesus'  sinlessness  and  full  divinity,  e.g.,  His  violence 
in  cleansing  the  temple,  His  overpowering  sorrow  in 
Gethsemane  (later  copyists  inserted  22:43-44),  His 
cry  of  seeming  despair  on  the  cross,  and  such  emotions 
as  anger  and  grief  and  curiosity.  There  is  similar 
omission  of  matters  discreditable  to  the  apostles: — the 
rebuke  of  Peter,  the  censure  of  the  Twelve,  the  ambi- 
tious request  of  James  and  John,  the  flight  at  Jesus' 
arrest;  also  the  denial  by  Peter  and  the  rebuke  to  the 
Twelve  at  the  Lake  (22:54  f . ;  8:25)  are  softened 
down,  and  excuses  are  made  for  acts  by  them  that 
might  be  censured  (22  :  45  ;  9  :  33).  It  is  the  first  step 
in  the  long  process  by  which  the  apostles  came  to  be 
represented  as  ideal  men,  and  the  human  side  of  Jesus 


298  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

was  so  completely  hidden  that  worshippers  craving  un- 
derstanding and  pity  turned  to  the  virgin  mother  in- 
stead of  to  her  Son. 

As  for  the  time  when  Luke  was  written,  it  seems 
certainly  to  have  been  after  the  fall  of  Jerusalem; 
such  a  passage  as  21 :  20-24,  when  compared  with  the 
parallel  passage  in  Mark,  shows  that  the  prophecy  of 
Jesus  had  received  interpretation  from  the  event  itself. 
If  the  date  of  Acts  could  he  exactly  determined,  we 
would,  of  course,  set  the  date  of  the  Gospel  not  long 
before  it.  As  a  likely  guess  we  may  fix  upon  some- 
where about  75  A.D. 

6.     The  Discarded  Gospels. 

Luke  prefaces  his  Gospel  with  the  statement  that 
many  others  have  undertaken  the  task  he  sets  before 
himself.  A  sudden  wave  of  activity  in  putting  the 
story  of  Jesus  into  permanent  written  form  seems  to 
have  swept  across  the  church  in  the  third  quarter  of 
the  century.  We  can  easily  understand  how  it  arose. 
Jesus  had  not  yet  returned,  and  the  conviction  was  be- 
coming strong  that  He  would  not  soon  return.  As 
expectation  grew  less,  the  value  of  recollection  in- 
creased; each  act  and  word  of  the  Lord  when  on  earth 
seemed  more  important.  Perhaps,  too,  the  conscious- 
ness of  His  immediate,  spiritual  presence  was  some- 
what dulled,  and  the  guidance  of  His  words  was  sought 
to  supplement  the  guidance  of  His  Spirit.  But  the 
eye-witnesses  were  passing  away;  and  there  was  dan- 
ger that  their  story  would  be  distorted  or  forgotten. 
So  men  hastened  to  write  it  down  as  they  had  received 
it  directly  or  indirectly  from  their  lips.  How  many 
gospels  came  into  existence  during  this  period,  we  do 
not  know.     Some  of  them  probably  were  only  brief  out- 


THE  SYNOPTIC  GOSPEL  299 

lines,  or  dealt  with  special  incidents  in  the  life  of 
Jesus;  others  may  have  been  as  full  as  the  Gospel  of 
Mark.  The  names  of  a  few  have  been  preserved 
through  references  to  them  or  even  brief  quotations 
from  them  by  early  writers;  but  none  ever  gained  gen- 
eral recognition  by  the  church.  One  hundred  years 
later  Tatian  used  only  the  four  canonical  gospels  when 
he  compiled  his  life  of  Christ;  and  Irenaeus  argued 
gravely  that  from  the  very  nature  of  things  there  could 
and  should  be  four  and  only  four. 

Why  did  the  church  thus  discard  these  other  gospels 
after  brief  use  of  them  ?  Undoubtedly  because  they 
were  less  satisfactory,  that  is,  less  full  or  less  trust- 
worthy than  our  four.  What  Theophilus  and  all  others 
sought  from  a  gospel  was  to  know  the  certainty  con- 
cerning the  things  wherein  they  had  been  taught  by 
word  of  mouth  (Lk.  1:4).  The  written  story  was 
placed  in  the  hands  of  those  who  already  had  heard 
the  oral  story,  and  was  circulated  while  many  still 
lived  who,  from  immediate  acquaintance  with  the 
apostles  or  even  with  Jesus  Himself,  could  test  its  ac- 
curacy. Unless  it  received  the  hearty  endorsement  of 
such  critics,  it  would  be  thrown  aside  when  a  more  re- 
liable gospel  could  be  procured.  Through  such  a  sift- 
ing process  our  four  gospels  alone  remain  as  those  that 
received  the  endorsement  of  the  church, — an  endorse- 
ment that  is  the  highest  proof  of  their  trustworthiness. 


XVIII 

CHEISTIANITY  AND  THE  KOMA]^ 
GOVEEIN'MENT 

EYERYTHIIN'G  in  the  Book  of  Acts  indicates  that 
during  the  first  half  of  the  Apo^olic  Age  the 
Koman  government  was  not  hostile  to  Chris- 
tianity. There  are  persecutions  bj  Jews  and  ill- 
treatment  hj  Gentiles;  but  whenever  a  Christian  is 
brought  before  a  Eoman  official  he  is  dealt  with  justly, 
though  somewhat  contemptuously.  To  be  sure,  one  pur- 
pose of  the  Book  of  Acts,  so  scholars  say,  is  to  recom- 
mend Christianity  to  the  Roman  government  by  point- 
ing out  that  in  the  beginning  it  was  favourably  regarded 
by  Roman  courts  and  magistrates ;  so  only  instances  of 
favour  may  have  been  recorded.  But  Paul's  letters  cor- 
roborate Acts.  The  apostle  is  confident  that  if  the 
brethren  lead  a  good  life  and  obey  the  rulers,  they  have 
nothing  to  fear  (Eom.  13  : 1-T).  And  certainly  as  long 
as  the  Christians  were  supposed  to  be  simply  one  Jew- 
ish sect,  they  would  not  suffer  for  their  religion,  since 
Judaism  was  allowed  special  privileges  and  exemption 
from  governmental  control. 

1.     The  Persecution  by  Nero. 

Though    the    Christians    were    sheltered    under   the 

rights  granted  to  the  Jews,  popular  prejudice  against 

them  was  strong.     Christianity  caused  trouble  wherever 

it  came.     It  broke  up  households,  even  as  Jesus  had 

foretold  (Matt.  10:  35  f.)  ;  it  caused  loss  of  profits  to 

traders  and  craftsmen  connected  with  the  temples;  it 

300 


CHRISTIANITY    AND    THE    GOVERNMENT     301 

shut  its  followers  away  from  the  social  life  as  well  as 
from  the  licentious  or  cruel  amuseraents  of  their  neigh- 
bours; and  it  seemed  to  the  educated  a  degi-ading  and 
de^ructive  superstition.  As  has  been  the  case  in  later 
days,  Christian  meetings  for  worship  and  the  celebra- 
tion of  the  Lord's  Supper  were  grossly  misunderstood. 
Held  as  they  usually  had  to  be  at  night,  with  the  two 
sexes  together,  they  were  supposed  to  be  carnivals  of 
lust;  and  from  garbled  words  about  the  mystic  body 
and  blood  of  Christ,  it  wag  inferred  that  human  sacri- 
fices and  cannibalism  added  horror  to  the  scene.  If  the 
Jews  were  disliked,  the  Christians  were  detested  by 
their  heathen  neighbours.  Conditions  were  ripe  for  an 
outbreak  against  them.  Still  no  one  could  dream  that 
the  storm  would  burst  so  suddenly  and  violently. 

In  July,  64  a.d.  a  terrible  conflagration  lasting  for 
days  destroyed  the  greater  part  of  Rome.  The  people 
suspected  Nero  of  causing  the  fire  that  he  might  revel 
in  the  wild  scenes  of  its  flames  and  the  misery  of  the 
flying  citizens,  or  glorify  himself  by  building  a  new 
city  upon  the  ashes  of  the  old.  To  avert  this  suspicion 
he  proclaimed  the  Christians  to  be  the  incendiaries. 
And  since  they  were  generally  despised,  mostly  poor, 
without  protectors,  and  supposed  to  lead  infamous  lives, 
it  was  easy  to  fix  the  charge  of  arson  upon  them  though 
direct  evidence  was  lacking.  Indeed,  the  Roman  popu- 
lace was  readj^  to  join  with  Nero  in  any  action  against 
Christians  because  of  the  general  belief  that,  as  Tacitus 
phrased  it,  they  were  "  haters  of  mankind."  The  perse- 
cution which  followed  was  savage  to  an  almost  incred- 
ible degree.  N'ot  simply  were  Christians  put  to  death, 
regardless  of  sex  and  age,  but,  as  the  sober  Roman 
historian  tells  us,  "  they  w^ere  also  made  the  subjects  of 
sport  in  their  death,  for  they  were  covered  with  the 


302  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

hides  of  wild  beasts  and  worried  to  death  by  dogs,  or 
nailed  to  crosses,  or  set  on  fire ;  and  when  day  declined 
they  were  burned  to  serve  as  torches  by  night.''  This 
excess  of  cruelty  finally  caused  a  revolt  in  popular 
feeling,  and  had  to  be  stopped  because  the  people  began 
to  sympathize  with  the  victims.  Yet  the  brand  of  in- 
famy which  had  been  thus  publicly  put  upon  the  fol- 
lowers of  Jesus  remained,  and  they  were  increasingly 
regarded  as  ^'the  refuse  of  the  world,  the  off-scouring 
of  all  things."  Any  charge  against  them  would  be 
plausible,  and  any  punishment  would  not  be  thought 
too  severe.  Henceforth,  though  not  always  persecuted, 
they  lived  under  the  shadow  of  persecution. 

2.    The  Later  Persecutions. 

During  the  troubled  days  that  followed  Nero's  death 
until  Vespasian  was  fairly  established  upon  the  throne, 
little  attention  could  be  paid  to  the  Christians.  Later 
on,  when  action  was  taken  concerning  them,  two  causes 
combined  to  make  that  action  hostile.  One  was,  as  we 
have  said,  the  opinion  that  they  were  a  worthless, 
vicious  class  whose  presence  poisoned  the  people, — to 
get  rid  of  them  would  be  for  the  public  benefit.  The 
other  was  the  fact  that  they  were  an  independent  or- 
ganization with  their  Great  Head,  their  own  officials 
and  laws,  and  a  close  connection  with  one  another 
throughout  the  empire.  This  was  illegal  and  danger- 
ous ;  they  must  be  suppressed.  No  general  edict  to  that 
effect  was  issued;  but  rescripts  were  sent  to  the  gov- 
ernors of  different  provinces  directing  them  to  watch 
the  disloyal  sect,  and  deal  with  its  members,  if  need  be, 
severely.  In  proportion  as  an  emperor  was  active  in 
looking  after  the  interests  of  the  empire,  he  strove  to 
exterminate  the  Christians,  thus  causing  the  seeming 


CHRISTIANITY    AND    THE    GOVERNMENT    303 

paradox  that  the  best  emperors  were  the  bitterest  per- 
secutors. The  character  of  a  provincial  governor  and 
the  degi-ee  of  popular  hatred  of  Christians  in  his  prov- 
ince, would  largely  determine  local  measures  against 
them;  but  we  may  be  sure  that  nowhere  was  an  open 
follower  of  Jesus  free  from  danger  of  cruel  treatment. 
A  greater  cause  of  suffering,  and  one  directly  con- 
nected with  religion,  came  from  refusal  to  join  in  wor- 
ship of  the  emperor.  Other  men  could  add  this  wor- 
ship to  their  own  cults ;  Christians  could  not.  Emperor 
worship  had  its  roots  in  the  primitive  belief  that  great 
men  are  in  some  way  divine ;  but  its  rapid  development 
during  the  first  century  came  from  an  increasing  desire 
for  a  deity  more  real  than  the  gods  who  were  vanishing 
in  the  mists  of  scepticism,  and  for  a  religion  that 
would  serve  as  a  common  bond  throughout  the  Roman 
world.  The  emperor  was  the  incarnation  of  the  im- 
measurable and  beneficent  forces  of  Rome,  and  to  pay 
him  divine  honours  was  a  natural  impulse.  We  see  the 
same  feeling  active  in  Japan  to-day.  The  rulers  at  first 
did  not  specially  seek  such  worship  of  themselves  in 
their  lifetime,  preferring  to  wait  until  death  before  they 
joined  the  ranks  of  the  gods ;  rather  it  was  forced  upon 
them  by  enthusiastic  provincials  in  the  East,  and  ac- 
cepted by  them  because  it  nourished  patriotism  and 
served  to  bind  the  empire  together.  Temples  sprang  up 
in  all  the  large  cities,  especially  in  Asia;  and  the 
Caesar-cult  was  rapidly  organized  and  developed.  Par- 
ticipation in  the  worship  was  not  compulsory: — Jews 
and  Christians  could  refuse  to  join  in  it,  though  at  the 
cost  of  seeming  to  be  unpatriotic.  Increasing  familiar- 
ity with  the  ascription  of  deity  to  themselves  presently 
made  the  emperors  ready  to  believe  that  they  were  in- 
deed divine.      Forced  to  play  the  part  of  God,  they 


304  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

ended  by  demanding  this  exalted  position.  Caligula, 
who  caused  the  Jews  much  difficulty  bj  insisting  that 
his  statue  should  be  placed  in  the  temple  at  Jerusalem, 
was,  to  be  sure,  half  crazy :  but  Domitian,  a  savage  and 
jealous  ruler,  loved  to  be  called  Lord  and  God  (domi- 
nus  et  deus),  and  made  a  sober  and  strenuous  attempt 
to  force  the  worship  of  himself  upon  all  except  the 
Jews.  This  brought  sore  trouble  to  the  Christians.  To 
worship  was  to  deny  their  Lord ;  to  refuse  was  to  insult 
the  emperor  and  brand  themselves  as  traitors  to  the 
state  with  death  as  the  penalty,  ^or  was  it  easy  to 
avoid  these  alternatives;  enemies  were  ever  watching 
and  eager  to  inform  against  them,  and  when  they  were 
brought  before  the  courts  the  examination  was  most 
searching.  The  process  of  trial  followed  by  Pliny  when 
he  was  governor  of  Bythinia  (112  a.d.),  had  probably 
developed  much  earlier.  He  states  in  a  letter  to  Trajan 
that  when  those  who  were  brought  before  him  as  Chris- 
tians persisted  in  confessing  Christ,  though  repeatedly 
threatened  with  capital  punishment,  he  put  them  to 
death  or,  if  they  were  Eoman  citizens,  sent  them  to 
Eome  for  trial.  Certain  of  the  accused  "  declared  that 
they  were  not  Christians  then  and  never  had  been ;  and 
they  repeated  after  me  an  invocation  to  the  gods,  and 
offered  worship  with  wine  and  incense  to  your  image 
which,  for  this  purpose,  I  had  ordered  to  be  brought 
with  the  images  of  the  deities;  and  they  likewise  re- 
viled Christ;  none  of  which  things,  I  am  told,  a  real 
Christian  can  ever  be  made  to  do.  On  this  account  I 
dismissed  them.  Others  named  by  an  informer,  first 
affirmed  and  then  denied  the  charge  of  Christianity, 
declaring  that  they  had  been  Christians  but  had  ceased 
to  be  so  some  three  years  ago,  others  still  longer,  some 
twenty  years  ago.     All  of  them  worshiped  your  image 


CHRISTIANITY    AND    THE    GOVERNMENT    305 

and  the  statues  of  the  gods,  and  also  reviled  Christ." 
Evidently  v^hen  a  Christian  was  accused  of  rejecting 
emperor  worship,  his  blameless  life  and  his  care  in 
observing  the  laws,  would  be  of  no  avail  in  clearing 
him.  He  would  suffer,  not  as  an  evil-doer  but  as  a 
Christian  (I  Peter  4:16) ;  and  nothing  but  denying  the 
name  would  save  him. 

From  the  days  of  Nero  the  shadows  of  persecution 
were  ever  growing  darker,  but  the  fierce  tempest  did  not 
break  until  the  century  neared  its  close.  We  have  no 
clear  record  of  severe  governmental  action  against  the 
Christians  during  the  reigns  of  Vespasian  and  Titus, 
though  there  are  hints  of  outbreaks  against  them  in 
various  localities,  and  of  suffering  even  unto  death  as 
a  Christian.  But  under  Domitian,  the  definite  imperial 
policy  was  to  crush  out  the  hated  sect,  and  this  resulted 
in  a  bitter  persecution  shortly  before  the  end  of  his 
reign.  No  historian  has  recorded  the  sufferings  of 
those  days;  but  imagination  can  easily  picture  the 
steadily  increasing  pressure  of  measures  to  make  fol- 
lowers of  Christ  renounce  Him,  the  consternation  when 
this  developed  into  outright  persecution,  the  dismay  as 
persecution  grew  more  and  more  severe,  the  sifting-out 
of  the  half-hearted,  the  heroic  endurance  even  unto 
death  of  the  faithful,  the  mingled  sorrow  and  rejoicing 
over  the  growing  number  of  martyrs,  and  the  dread 
anticipation  of  what  the  powers  of  evil  had  still  in 
store.  And  such  use  of  the  imagination  to  reconstruct 
the  lives  of  the  Christians  under  Vespasian  and  Domi- 
tian is  helpful  and  almost  necessary  for  a  full  apprecia- 
tion of  the  Christian  writings  produced  in  that  period. 

3.    The  Later  Years  of  Peter. 

Though  Peter  stands  out  as  the  leading  apostle  in 


306  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

tlie  Gospels  and  tlie  first  half  of  the  Book  of  Acts,  he  is 
largely  lost  to  sight  later  on.  The  headship  of  the 
church  in  Jerusalem  passed  from  him  to  James  the 
Just,  possibly  because  Peter  was  increasingly  away 
from  the  city,  and  also  because  of  his  favouring  attitude 
towards  the  Gentiles,  beginning  with  his  visit  to  Cor- 
nelius. He  is  not  mentioned  in  connection  with  Paul's 
final  visit  to  Jerusalem ;  and  he  seems  to  have  spent  his 
last  years  outside  of  Palestine.  Though  at  first  he  might 
work  among  only  the  Jews  of  the  Dispersion  (Gal. 
2:7-8),  his  attitude  towards  the  Gentiles  (Acts 
15 :  Y-11)  would  lead  him  like  Paul  to  offer  the  gospel 
to  all.  On  his  missionary  tours  his  wife  accompanied 
him,  and  tradition  s'ays  that  Mark  went  as  his  inter- 
preter (I  Cor.  9  :  5  ;  I  Peter  5:13).  We  know  that  he 
visited  Antioch  (Gal.  2:11);  and  though  from  this 
visit  may  have  arisen  the  early  belief  that  he  was  the 
first  bishop  of  that  church,  it  is  very  probable  that  after 
leaving  Jerusalem  he  made  his  headquarters  there.  A 
party  in  Corinth  took  his  name  (I  Cor.  1 :  12)  ;  but  this 
does  not  prove  that  he  ever  laboured  in  that  city.  The 
First  Epistle  of  Peter  is  addressed  to  the  sojourners  of 
the  Dispersion  in  Pontus,  Galatia,  Cappadocia,  Asia 
and  Bythinia;  and  even  if  it  should  be  denied  that  he 
wrote  that  epistle,  the  inference  is  probably  correct  that 
he  laboured  in  those  regions.  He  doubtless  died  as  a 
martyr;  so  Clement  expressly  says,  and  tradition  uni- 
formly affirms.  John  21 :  18-19  is  further  testimony  to 
this  fact,  as  it  is  evidently  an  interpretation  of  the 
prophecy  of  Jesus  after  the  event.  Tradition  agrees 
also  that  his  martyrdom  was  in  Kome.  Some  Protes- 
tants, in  their  eagerness  to  disprove  the  Pope's  claim 
to  be  the  lineal  successor  of  Peter,  have  denied  that 
Peter  ever  was  at  Eome ;  but  this  is  a  wilful  refusal  to 


CHRISTIANITY    AND    THE    GOVERNMENT     307 

weigli  evidence.  We  may  not  believe  that  he  founded 
the  church  at  Rome, — the  silence  of  Acts  and  of  PauFs 
letters  written  to  or  in  Rome  is  plainly  against  it ;  hut 
the  traditions  that  link  Peter  with  Rome  are  so  early 
and  so  strong  that  scholars  generally  agree  he  came  and 
died  there.  Whether  his  death  was  as  early  as  the  time 
of  Nero  is  more  doubtful.  Tradition  affirms  it,  but  there 
was  a  natural  inclination  to  assign  all  deaths  by  martyr- 
dom to  the  time  either  of  Nero  or  of  Domitian,  the  two 
well-known  periods  of  persecution.  Another  tradition 
declares  that  he  lived  in  Eome  twenty-five  years;  and 
while  such  a  long  stay  is  barely  credible,  the  story  could 
hardly  have  arisen  if  he  died  as  early  as  the  days  of 
Nero.  Some  beautiful  legends  have  clustered  around 
his  last  hours ;  but  the  time,  place,  and  circumstances  of 
his  death  are  veiled  from  us.  And  whether  we  have 
any  further  items  of  his  history  depends  upon  whether 
he  was  the  author  of  the  epistles  that  bear  his  name. 

4.     The  First  Epistle  of  Peter. 

The  letter  is  declared  to  be  written  by  Peter  (1:1) 
from  Babylon  (5:13) — probably  a  cryptic  name  for 
Eome, — to  Christians  in  Asia  Minor  (1:1-2)  who  are 
suffering  persecution  (1:6;  4:12  f.).  The  amanuen- 
sis is  Silvanus  (Silas),  and  greetings  are  sent  by  Mark 
(5:12-13), — the  former  possibly  and  the  latter  prob- 
ably Paul's  companion.  The  author  evidently  is 
familiar  with  the  Epistle  of  James,  and  seems  to  have 
known  Romans  and  Ephesians  also;  though  the  resem- 
blances may  have  sprung  from  common  Christian 
thought.  All  this  is  consi^ent  with  the  little  we  know 
about  the  later  days  of  Peter;  and  in  the  early  cen- 
turies there  was  no  question  as  to  his  authorship.  Pe- 
cent  writers  have  questioned  it,  and  seek  to  disprove  it 


308  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

by  showing  that  the  epistle  does  not  correspond  to  what 
in  their  opinion  Peter  would  have  written.   Their  objec- 
tion that  a  Galilean  fisherman  could  not  have  written 
such  good  Greek  is  easily  met  by  giving  credit  for  the 
language  and  style  of  the  epistle  to  Silvanus.    They  say 
also  that  Peter  would  not  have  addressed  churches  in 
Paul's  field.     But  most  of  the  provinces  mentioned  in 
the  address  were  not  in  Paul's  field;  nor  is  there  evi- 
dence that  Peter  would  hesitate  to  write  a  letter  of  en- 
couragement to  Paul's  churches,  especially  if  Paul  were 
now  dead.     The  letter  seems  to  be  w^ritten  to  Gentiles 
(2  :  10  ;  4 :  2-3)  or  more  likely  to  Christians  generally, — 
the  term,  "sojourners  of  the  Dispersion,"  being  used 
figuratively  (1:17;  2:11);  and  it  is  argued  that  Peter 
would  confine  himself  to  Jewish  Christians.     But  the 
old  division  of  work  (Gal.  2:9)  can  hardly  have  been 
observed  through  the  decades  (it  was  not  by  Paul)  ;  and 
after    the    Jewish    war    it   certainly   must   have   been 
ignored  by  anyone  who  worked  outside  of  Palestine.    The 
Pauline  theology  of  the  letter  is  said  to  indicate  that 
Peter  could  not  have  written  it.     But,  as  the  gospels 
show,  Peter  did  not  have  an  independent  mind;  and 
we  have  seen  that  at  Antioch  and  the  Jerusalem  coun- 
cil he  was  deeply  influenced  by  Paul.    Moreover,  in  the 
opinion  of  other  scholars  the  theology  of  the  epistle  ig 
not  so  much  that  of  Paul   as  of  the  Epistle  to  the 
Hebrews.     The  silence  about  Jesus'  earthly  life,  which 
is  urged  against  the  apostolic  authorship  of  this  and  the 
epistles  of  James  and  John,  is  after  all  not  remarkable. 
If  the  consciousness  of  the  immediate  presence  of  Christ 
was  strong,  and  the  emphasis  of  His  risen  power  and 
glory  was  constant,  why  should  an  apostle  look  back  to 
the  days  of  the  earthly  ministry  for  guidance  or  inspi- 
ration ?     Yet  the  example  of  Jesus  in  bearing  persecu- 


CHRISTIANITY    AND    THE    GOVERNMENT    309 

tion  is  held  before  the  readers  (2:21  f. ;  3:18; 
4:1,13);  and  there  is  the  plain  statement  that  the 
writer  was  an  eye-witness  of  His  sufferings  (5:1).  If 
the  epi^le  was  not  by  Peter,  either  it  was  by  a  forger 
who  would  have  taken  more  pains  to  emphasize  Petrine 
authorship,  or  it  was  anonymous,  in  which  case  the 
later  assignment  would  have  been  rather  to  Paul  than 
to  Peter. 

There  is  little  to  indicate  the  date.  If  Peter  was  the 
author  and  was  put  to  death  by  Xero,  it  was  before  68 
A.D.  But  the  spread  and  organization  of  churches 
through  Asia  Minor,  and  what  seems  the  beginning  of 
governmental  persecution  (3:16;  5:8-9),  cause  many 
scholars  to  believe  that  the  epistle  was  written  not  be- 
fore Y5  A.D.  The  tone  of  the  writer  is  that  of  an  old 
man  who  looks  upon  life  as  a  pilgrimage  full  of  suffer- 
ing, and  who  in  a  fatherly  way  exhorts  his  readers  to  be 
patient,  humble  and  hopeful.  It  is  a  new  and  strange 
thing,  this  fiery  trial  which  is  in  their  midst;  and  he 
still  hopes  that  by  Avell-doing  they  may  escape  its  sever- 
ity ;  but  if  the  mere  fact  that  they  bear  the  name  Chris- 
tian is  to  bring  condemnation,  let  them  glorify  God  in 
this  name,  and  rejoice  that  they  share  Christ's  suffer- 
ings. ^^  The  temper  inculcated  by  Peter  in  view  of  suf- 
fering is  not  a  grey,  close-lipped  stoicism,  but  a  glow 
of  exultation  such  as  Jesus  (Matt.  5: 11-12)  and  Paul 
(Rom.  5:3)  had  already  counselled.  Christians  can  be 
patient  under  trials  only  by  being  more  than  patient '' 
(Moffatt).  And  to  sustain  such  a  spirit  of  rejoicing 
in  tribulation  the  readers  are  pointed  to  the  eternal 
glory  that  lies  beyond.  The  key-note  of  the  epistle  is 
hope.  Peter  has  been  called  the  apostle  of  hope,  as 
Jame^  of  works,  Paul  of  faith,  and  John  of  love. 

The  epistle  admits  of  no  sharp  analysis;  like  James 


310  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

the  train  of  thought  is  conversational  rather  than  logi- 
cal. After  a  salutation  which  outlines  the  thoughts  that 
follow  (1:1-2),  the  salvation  of  God  is  held  up  as  a 
living  hope  for  the  future  (3-5),  an  unutterable  joy  in 
the  present  (6-9),  and  a  subject  of  earnest  study  by  the 
prophets  in  the  past  (10-12).  The  life  in  expectation 
of  the  coming  of  Christ  must  be  one  of  holiness  (13-16), 
godly  fear  (17-21),  and  brotherly  love  (22-25).  Those 
who  have  entered  upon  it  should  seek  to  grow  as  babes 
in  Christ  (2:1-2),  and  to  be  living  stones  and  a  holy 
priesthood  in  God'g  spiritual  temple  (4-10).  They 
are  exhorted  to  avoid  fleshly  lusts  and  all  appearance  of 
evil,  that  the  slanders  against  them  may  be  stopped, 
and  the  slanderers  may  ^^  glorify  God,"  i.e.,  be  con- 
verted (11-12).  As  subjects,  Christians  must  obey  the 
civil  authorities  (13-17)  ;  as  servants,  they  must  be 
obedient  to  their  masters,  even  to  surly  ones  who  in- 
flict punishment  wrongfully,  for  thus  Christ  suffered 
and  left  an  example  (18-25);  as  wives,  they  must  be  in 
subjection  to  their  husbands  even  to  those  who  are  not 
Christians,  hoping  by  ^lent  influence  and  chaste  be- 
haviour to  win  them  to  Christ  (3:1-6)  ;  as  husbands, 
they  must  be  considerate  and  appreciative  of  their 
wives  (7)  ;  and  as  neighbours  they  must  display  the 
Christian  graces,  since  by  blessing  others  they  will 
themselves  gain  a  blessing  (8-13). 

The  epistle  then  passes  on  to  the  dominant  subject  of 
suffering  for  righteousness'  sake.  The  blessedness  of 
such  suffering  as  a  part  of  the  life  in  Christ,  is  set 
forth  in  a  passage  wherein  an  allusion  to  His  preaching 
unto  "  the  spirits  in  prison "  has  caused  much  discus- 
sion, and  given  rise  to  the  mediaeval  idea  of  the  harry- 
ing of  hell  (3: 14-22).  Suffering  when  Christlike  is  a 
proof  that,  like  Christ,  the  sufferers  refuse  to  share  in 


CHRISTIANITY    AND    THE    GOVERNMENT     311 

tlie  sinful  life  of  the  world,  and  live  according  to  the 
will  of  God  (4:1-6).  Such  a  life  is  enjoined  that  in 
all  things  God  may  be  glorified  through  Jesus  Christ 
(7-11).  In  the  fiery  trial  there  is  a  double  joy,  that  of 
sharing  Christ's  sufferings  and  that  of  exulting  in  the 
revelation  of  His  glory  (12-16).  And  suft'ering  is  a 
testing  which  only  the  righteous  can  endure  (17-19). 
The  elders  are  exhorted  to  be  faithful  in  their  over- 
sight of  the  flock  (5:1-4);  and  the  younger  Christians, 
to  be  subject  to  them  and  with  humility  to  serve  one 
another,  casting  their  cares  upon  God  who  will  Him- 
self perfect,  establish  and  strengthen  (5-11).  The 
letter  closes  with  a  few  salutations  and  a  benediction  of 
peace  (12-14). 

5.    The  Second  Epistle  of  Peter, 

The  epistle  that  bears  this  title  is  mentioned  by  no 
writer  before  the  third  century,  and  was  the  last  of  all 
the  books  to  gain  a  place  in  the  N"ew  Testament.  The 
indications  that  it  was  not  written  by  Peter  are  many. 
It  speaks  of  '^  the  fathers  "  and  "  your  apostles,"  as  if 
they  belonged  to  an  earlier  day  (3:2-4) ;  it  shows  that 
PauFs  epistles  are  now  collected  and  treated  as  inspired 
(3:15-16);  and  it  takes  nearly  half  its  contents 
(2:1-3:7)  from  the  Epistle  of  Jude.  That  Second 
Peter  does  borrow  from  Jude,  and  not  the  reverse  seems 
unmistakable.  Jude  is  brief,  strong,  symmetrical;  to 
enlarge  and  dilute  it  would  be  an  easy  task ;  but  to  take 
the  corresponding  passage  in  Peter  and  condense  it,  re- 
taining the  unusual  words,  bringing  together  scattered 
ideas,  and  making  all  harmonious,  would  be  exceeding 
difficult.  Also,  to  understand  some  passages  in  Peter 
we  have  to  go  back  to  Jude,  and  see  how  the  words 
originally  stood  before  they  were  torn  apart  and  given 


312  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

a  new  context  (cf.  II  Peter  2  :  11-12  ;  Jude  9-10).  ^  That 
the  apostle  Peter  would  thus  borrow  from  Jude  is  im- 
probable, even  as  that  he  should  give  ^ch  an  injunction 
as  3:2.  On  the  other  hand,  if  the  epistle  is  not  by 
Peter,  it  i^  a  deliberate  forgery;  for  it  professes 
throughout  to  be  by  him.  But  a  forger  would  take  pains 
to  imitate  more  carefully  the  First  Epistle  of  Peter, 
especially  in  such  a  matter  as  the  name  and  title  of  the 
writer  or  as  the  benediction.  And  there  are  many 
things  in  the  opening  chapter  and  the  close  of  the  epistle 
that  ^uit  the  apostle  and  harmonize  with  First  Peter : — 
enough  so  that  the  apostolic  authorship,  including 
Peter's  appropriation  of  Jude's  epistle,  is  still  main- 
tained by  some  able  scholars. 

x\n  attempt  to  reconcile  the  conflicting  indications 
of  authorship  deserves  consideration.  It  supposes  that 
Peter  wrote  a  brief  letter  encouraging  the  church  about 
the  delay  of  Chris's  coming.  In  this  letter  he  promised 
his  readers  to  put  them  in  remem^brance,  and  stir  them 
up  from  time  to  time  (II  Peter  1:12-13).  A  later 
writer,  noting  this  promise  and  thinking  that  the  warn- 
ings of  Jude  were  such  a  message  as  Peter  would  give 
in  the  then  conditions  (3:1),  took  the  little  letter  of 
Peter  and  incorporated  Jude  in  it,  omitting  the  quota- 
tions from  the  apocalypses,  and  changing  the  tense  from 
present  to  future  that  they  might  suit  the  professedly 
earlier  date;  and  then  sent  it  to  the  churches  he  felt 
needed  such  warning  and  encouragement.  E'aturally 
in  amplifying  Jude  he  made  it  more  Petrine  in  tone 
and  phraseology;  and  he  may  also  have  remodelled 
Peter's  letter  by  adding  profitable  suggestions  as,  for 
example,  the  one  about  Paul's  epistles  (3: 15-16).  The 
original  letter  of  Peter  would  be  the  first  chapter  and 
portions  of  the  last  chapter  in  the  present  epistle. 


CHRISTIANITY    AND    THE    GOVERNMENT    313 

Apparently  the  question  of  authorship  must  remain 
unsettled,  thus  leaving  the  book  in  much  the  same  posi- 
tion as  the  Pastoral  Epistles  and  Hebrews.  The  right 
of  any  book  to  a  place  in  the  New  Testament  depends 
not  upon  who  wrote  it,  but  upon  what  it  contains.  The 
words  of  an  apostle  have  no  authority,  save  as  they  are 
the  words  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  Suppose,  and  it  is  not 
impossible,  that  there  should  be  discovered  to-day  one 
of  the  lost  letters  of  Paul.  Would  the  mere  fact  that 
he  wrote  it,  make  us  add  it  to  the  list  of  inspired 
scriptures  ?  But  in  the  case  of  the  present  epistle,  the 
uncertainty  as  to  its  author,  while  not  affecting  its 
authority,  does  leave  us  in  perplexity  as  to  its  date. 
If  Peter  wrote  it,  we  can  place  it  not  long  after  his  first 
epistle.  If  he  did  not,  then  the  date  must  be  after  that 
of  Jude,  and  may  be  even  after  the  end  of  the  century, 
making  this  the  latest  of  the  New  Testament  books. 

The  opening  chapter  is  a  general  exhortation  to  make 
progress  in  Christian  virtues,  together  with  an  emphasis 
of  Peter's  knowledge  and  authority.  Jude's  denuncia- 
tion of  the  false  teachers  is  next  repeated ;  but  they  are 
denounced  not  so  much  for  their  licentious,  greedy  lives 
as  for  their  denial  of  the  coming  of  Christ,  in  which 
they  evidently  have  used  some  of  Paul's  teachings, — 
perhaps  II  Thess.  2 : 1  f .  In  Jude  there  is  a  desire  to 
save  these  scoffers,  if  possible ;  but  the  present  epistle  has 
nothing  but  condemnation.  Then  follows  the  explana- 
tion that  the  Day  of  the  Lord  is  delayed  through  God's 
merciful  desire  that  all  should  first  repent ;  and  the  as- 
surance that  it  certainly  will  come,  destroying  the  pres- 
ent heavens  and  earth,  and  making  all  things  new.  The 
closing  exhortation  is  to  watchfulness  and  diligence. 


XIX 

THE  kevelatio:n'  of  JOHlSr 

THE  Kevelation,  or  Apocalypse,  of  Jolm  is  con- 
fessedly a  puzzling  book.  We  must  suppose 
that  the  original  readers  understood  it;  yet 
as  early  as  the  fourth  century  Jerome  cried  out  that 
it  contained  as  many  mysteries  as  words.  Fanatics 
used  it  then,  as  they  have  ever  since,  in  support  of 
strange  and  unwholesome  doctrines,  thus  bringing  it 
into  disrepute  and  causing  much  dispute  over  its  right 
to  a  place  among  inspired  writings.  It  has  been  end- 
lessly discussed  and  variously  interpreted  by  the  few 
for  whom  its  very  obscurity  has  a  fascination,  and  un- 
duly neglected,  save  as  regards  certain  familiar  pas- 
sages, by  the  great  majority  of  Bible  students.  Just 
at  present  it  is  receiving  special  attention,  both  because 
scholars  believe  that  they  have  found  new  light  upon 
its  meaning,  and  because  ordinary  readers  feel  that  its 
messages  in  some  way  have  gained  fresh  power  from 
the  Great  War.  Yet  it  still  remains  the  most  enig- 
matic book  in  the  ISTew  Testament.  Unquestionably  it 
was  born  from  the  struggle  between  the  church  and  the 
Eoman  government ;  and  for  that  reason  we  take  it  up 
at  this  point  in  our  narrative. 

1.     The  Problems  of  the  Book. 

The  questions  about  the  Apocalypse  that  caU  for  an 
answer  are  many;  but  we  are  concerned  chiefly  with 
two, — ^Who  wrote  it?  and  What  does  it  mean?  The 
author  was  John;  but  was  he  the  apostle,  or  the  pres- 

314 


THE  REVELATION  OF  JOHN  315 

bjter  John  mentioned  by  Papias,  or  some  unknown 
Christian  bearing  that  not  uncommon  name  ?  This  can 
better  be  discussed  later  on  when  we  deal  with  the 
other  writings  ascribed  to  the  apostle  John.  The 
meaning  of  the  book  is  the  more  difficult  and  important 
problem.  Evidently  in  its  central  part  it  portrays  by 
a  series  of  visions  a  terrible  and  deadly  struggle  be- 
tween the  church  and  her  enemies.  But  do  the  events 
thus  symbolically  and  powerfully  set  forth  belong  to 
the  writer's  own  age  ?  Or  are  they  still  in  the  future, 
— at  the  end  of  the  present  aeon,  whenever  that  may 
be?  Or  are  some  of  them  already  behind  us  while 
others  are  yet  to  come,  so  that  the  book  is  a  continuous 
history  of  the  church's  progress?  Or  are  they  in  no 
way  historical  events,  but  vivid  pictures  of  the  unceas- 
ing warfare  between  good  and  evil  principles?  Each 
of  theSe  interpretations  has  had  and  still  has  its  advo- 
cates; which  shall  we  accept? 

To  add  to  our  confusion,  some  recent  writers  main- 
tain that  Revelation  can  have  no  uniform  interpreta- 
tion, because  it  is  made  up  of  various  small  apocalypses 
or  fragments  of  apocalypses,  written  at  different  times 
by  Jewish  as  well  as  by  Christian  authors,  each  of 
which  must  be  separated  from  the  others  and  given  an 
independent  treatment.  Concerning  this  theory  we 
may  say  that  evidently  the  author  was  a  close  student 
of  the  Old  Testament  and  current  apocalypses,  and 
borrowed  symbols  and  ideas  from  them,  especially 
from  the  Book  of  Daniel ;  and  he  may  even  have  taken 
whole  passages  from  those  who  wrote  before  him, — 
the  Old  Testament  prophets  did  not  hesitate  to  do  so. 
But  he  made  his  material  thoroughly  his  own.  In 
grammar  and  style  and  structure,  all  of  which  are 
unique,  the  book  is  the  same  throughout;  and  there  is 


31G  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

an  unusual  unity  of  thought  and  dramatic  develop- 
ment. To  assign  its  several  parts  to  different  authors, 
or  to  pronounce  it  "  a  conglomerate  of  ill-according 
elements,"  and  John  merely  an  awkward  compiler, 
seems  absurd.  Whatever  else  the  book  may  be,  it  is 
"  a  masterpiece  of  literary  art." 

2.    The  Nature  of  an  Apocalypse. 

Many  of  the  difficulties  in  understanding  Eevela- 
tion  have  arisen  from  the  idea  that  because  it  foretells 
the  future,  it  should  be  construed  as  an  ordinary  book 
of  prophecy.  But  to  do  this  is  as  misleading  as  to  give 
one  and  the  same  interpretation  to  the  imagery  of  a 
poet  and  the  sober  statements  of  a  preacher.  The  un- 
derlying thoughts  may  be  identical,  but  we  must  reach 
them  in  different  way^.  An  apocalypse  has  its  own  liter- 
ary characteristics  as  well  as  its  own  spiritual  fea- 
tures. In  former  days  there  was  excuse  for  not  recog- 
nizing this  fact;  because  the  only  apocalyptical  writ- 
ings in  the  Bible  besides  Revelation  are  the  Book  of 
Daniel  and  scattered  passages  elsewhere,  and  the  very 
few  other  apocalypses  then  known  were  little  studied. 
The  comparatively  recent  discovery  of  further  pieces 
of  this  literature,  of  which  the  Book  of  Enoch  is  chief, 
has  enabled  us  to  recognize  more  clearly  its  special 
features.  The  messages  of  the  prophets,  at  least  of 
the  earlier  ones,  were  delivered  as  public  addresses, 
and  afterwards  written  down;  but  apocalypses  were 
never  spoken  and  were  for  the  closet  rather  than  the 
forum.  Their  messages  were  usually  put  in  the  form 
of  visions  or  dreams.  Where  a  prophet  would  say, 
"  They  sow  the  wind,  and  they  shall  reap  the  whirl- 
wind "  (Hosea  8:7),  an  apocalyptist  would  write,  "I 
behold  a  whirlwind;  and  by  it  those  who  sowed  the 


THE  REVELATION  OF  JOHN  317 

wind  are  being  swept  awaj.''  How  far  these  visions  origi- 
nally were  real  psychical  experiences  we  cannot  deter- 
mine; they  became  the  convenient  and  conventional 
form  for  an  apocalypse.  The  use  of  symbols  is  an- 
other characteristic  feature.  It  may  have  been  caused 
by  the  need  of  hiding  the  meaning  from  enemies  (cf. 
II  Thess.  2:  1-10),  or  by  the  impossibility  of  express- 
ing in  any  other  way  the  ineffable  things  of  the  vision 
(cf.  II  Cor.  12:4).  The  symbols  often  seem  gro- 
tesque or  monstrous,  e.g.,  a  sword  coming  out  of  a 
mouth,  a  beast  with  seven  heads  and  ten  horns,  a  city 
as  high  as  it  is  long  and  broad ;  but  this  is  because  we, 
like  the  Greeks,  insist  that  a  symbol  shall  satisfy  our 
aesthetic  sense,  while  the  Hebrews  thought  only  of  its 
fitness  to  express  a  religious  truth.  All  the  Jewish 
apocalypses  were  put  forth  as  the  productions  of 
famous  teachers  in  the  remote  past;  e.g.,  Enoch, 
Moses,  Isaiah,  instead  of  the  real  authors.  This  was 
because  in  the  age  when  they  were  written  the  belief 
was  general  that  prophecy  had  ceased,  and  that  men 
no  longer  were  able  to  receive  a  direct  revelation  from 
God.  The  only  way,  therefore,  to  give  force  to  a  mes- 
sage and  assert  its  divine  origin,  was  to  put  it  in  the 
lips  of  some  person  of  old  who  was  recognized  as  hav- 
ing walked  and  talked  with  God.  The  fact  that  John, 
when  he  wrote  his  apocalypse,  did  not  support  it  by 
an  ancient  name,  is  significant  as  showing  that  the  con- 
sciousness of  direct  inspiration  had  once  more  been 
kindled,  and  men  possessing  it  did  not  hesitate  to  say, 
each  in  his  own  way,  "  Thus  saith  the  Lord." 

An  apocalypse  is  the  product  of  periods  of  danger 
and  suffering, — an  answer  to  the  cry  of  the  faithful, 
"  How  long,  O  Lord  ? "  It  brings  a  message  of 
patience,  hope  and  cheer: — God  will  avenge  His  own 


318  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

elect  and  speedily.  But  in  regard  to  the  present  and 
the  future  it  takes  a  different  view  from  that  of 
prophecy.  It  refuses  to  believe  that  present  forces  of 
good  will  ultimately  conquer  evil,  and  pessimistically 
declares  that  things  must  go  from  bad  to  worse  until 
God  directly  intervenes  to  crush  His  foes.  While 
prophecy  ever  urges  men  to  work  for  God,  apocalypse 
holds  that  all  events  are  so  divinely  prean-anged  that 
men  are  helpless  and  can  only  wait  for  God.  Since 
the  future  is  already  fixed  beyond  change  by  the  di- 
vine will,  it  may  be  revealed  in  visions,  and  its  exact 
times  may  be  figured  out;  indeed,  students  of  apoc- 
alypses are  fond  of  such  figuring.  Supernatural 
beings, — angels  and  spirits  of  evil, — play  an  important 
part  in  apocalyptic  visions.  This  was  the  fruit  of 
later  Jewish  thought  which  held  that  God  is  too  exalted 
and  holy  to  deal  directly  with  men,  and  so  makes  use 
of  spiritual  beings  as  His  agents  (even  Paul  speaks 
of  the  law  being  enacted  through  the  agency  of  angels 
(Gal.  3:19),  a  different  conception  of  its  origin  from 
that  in  Exodus),  and  also  the  fruit  of  contact  with  the 
Persian  religion,  according  to  which  spirits  of  evil  and 
darkness  were  ever  fighting  against  spirits  of  good  and 
light.  It  is  in  the  apocalypses  that  we  find  the  Mes- 
siah represented  as  a  preexistent,  heavenly  being;  the 
prophets  had  uniformly  pictured  him  as  a  human  de- 
scendant of  David,  divinely  endowed  with  strength 
and  wisdom.  And  the  favourite  title  of  Jesus  for 
Himself,  the  Son  of  Man,  was  first  used  in  these 
apocalyptic  books. 

The  most  characteristic  feature  of  apocalypses  is 
the  conception  of  the  world's  history  as  sharply  divided 
into  two  great  ages  or  aeons.  The  first  age  is  the  one 
in  which  the  writer  now  lives.     It  is  an  age  filled  with 


THE  REVELATION  OF  JOHN  319 

dire  calamities,  both  physical  2nd  spiritual.  The 
forces  of  evil  led  by  Satan  seem  triumphant,  and  the 
condition  of  the  pious  is  one  of  suffering  and  oppres- 
sion. But  this  age  is  drawing  to  a  close.  Very  soon 
will 'come  the  final,  terrible  struggle  between  the  pow- 
ers of  good  and  evil,  a  struggle  full  of  supernatural 
actors  and  terrifying  events.  And  in  that  hour  of 
darkness  either  the  Messiah  will  suddenly  appear,  or 
God  will  manifest  His  power  in  some  startling  way, 
to  overwhelm  all  the  hosts  of  evil  and  bring  about  their 
dissolution.  Then  the  new  aeon  will  begin, — the 
golden  age  in  which  all  things  will  be  marvellously 
transformed,  sickness  and  suffering  and  death  will 
disappear,  those  who  fought  against  God  will  be 
judged  and  punished,  while  the  people  of  God  will 
enter  into  divine  joys  and  rewards.  The  certainty 
and  nearness  of  this  glorious  consummation  formed 
the  central  note  of  hope  and  cheer  in  apocalyptic 
thought.  Whether  the  new  world  of  this  coming  aeon 
would  be  spiritual  or  earthly  was  problematical.  On 
the  one  hand  the  old  prophets  had  always  promised  a 
renewed  and  transformed  earth,  in  which  the  soil 
would  be  marvellously  fertile,  Jerusalem  would  be 
built  up  into  a  wonderful  city,  and  the  chosen  people 
would  enjoy  the  utmost  earthly  felicity.  On  the  other 
hand  the  apocalyptists  loved  to  anticipate  and  portray 
a  spiritual  world  with  its  rewards  and  punishments. 
So  to  harmonize  these  two  conflicting  expectations, 
there  was  sometimes  pictured  a  millennium, — a  period 
of  a  thousand  years  after  the  end  of  the  first  aeon, — 
during  which  the  Kingdom  of  God  triumphant  on 
earth  will  have  all  the  joys  promised  by  the  prophets, 
and  at  whose  close  will  come  the  final  judgment  and 
the  eternal,  spiritual  age  with  its  bliss  and  woe. 


320  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

3.    The  Occasion  of  Writing. 

An  apocalyptist  like  a  prophet  was  a  preacher  with 
a  message  for  men  of  his  own  day.  When  he  wrote 
about  the  future,  he  was  not  aiming  to  gratify  idle 
curiosity  but  from  the  future  to  draw  helpful  lessons 
or  warnings  or  encouragements  for  the  present.  His 
teaching  was  suited  to  the  needs  of  his  readers;  there- 
fore, to  understand  it,  we  must  first  ascertain  when 
and  to  whom  he  wrote.  The  Revelation  of  John,  as 
its  contents  show,  was  put  forth  in  an  hour  of  sore 
trouble  and  persecution  when  Eome  was  ravaging  the 
church  and  threatening  death  to  those  who  would  not 
worship  the  emperor.  There  was  no  longer  any  hope 
that  by  well-doing  the  government  might  be  propitiated 
and  Christians  regain  favour;  instead,  the  war  be- 
tween the  beast  and  the  Lamb  must  be  fought  to  a 
finish.  In  the  opinion  of  some  scholars,  especially 
ihose  who  wrote  a  few  decades  ago,  the  days  immedi- 
ately following  the  death  of  ISTero  best  suit  the  situa- 
tion revealed  in  the  book;  and  elaborate  interpreta- 
tions of  the  visions  have  been  worked  out  from  this 
standpoint.  But  neither  the  hostility  of  the  Roman 
government,  nor  the  development  of  the  churches 
founded  by  Paul  in  Asia,  could  in  69  a.d.  have  been 
so  far  advanced  as  Revelation  indicates.  The  date 
fixed  by  early  tradition  and  accepted  generally  to-day 
is  the  latter  part  of  the  reign  of  Domitian,  though  with 
the  possibility  that  some  portions  of  the  book  may  have 
been  written  in  the  time  of  Vespasian  and  revised 
when  the  whole  was  published.  Undoubtedly,  how- 
ever, the  persecution  by  ISTero  strongly  shaped  the 
writer's  portrayal  of  persecutions  yet  to  come;  and  a 
further  background  of  his  picture  was  the  terrible  suf- 


THE  REVELATION  OF  JOHN  321 

ferings  of  the  Jews  when  Antiochus  Epiphanes  (168 
B.C.)  sought  to  force  them  to  deny  their  faith.  The 
destruction  of  Jerusalem,  also,  may  have  been  in  his 
thought  when  he  portrayed  the  destruction  of  Rome. 
As  readers  John  must  have  had  in  mind  more  than 
the  seven  churches  directly  addressed.  Even  in  Asia 
there  were  other  churches, — Colosse,  Troas,  Hier- 
apolis, — that  might  equally  well  be  written  to;  and 
what  about  those  in  Galatia  and  Macedonia  and 
Achaia  ?  There  is  no  reason  to  doubt  that  his  message 
was  for  all  his  brethren,  and  that  he  selected  the  seven 
churches, — the  ones,  it  may  be,  he  knew  best, — simply 
as  representatives  of  the  whole  church.  The  number 
seven,  as  a  number  for  sacred  things,  would  suit  this; 
and  the  several  messages  combine  into  a  universal  one 
which  "  he  that  hath  ears  to  hear,  let  him  hear.'' 

The  last  decade  of  the  first  century  opened  omi- 
nously for  the  Christians.  Emperor  worship  was  in- 
creasingly demanded, — the  alternative  being  confisca- 
tion of  goods,  banishment,  imprisonment  or  even  death. 
Also,  there  was  a  widespread  belief  that  Nero  was  still 
alive  and  in  hiding  among  the  Parthians,  whence  he 
would  presently  lead  those  dreaded  barbarians  in  a 
campaign  of  vengeance  upon  his  former  empire.  This 
fear  assumed  a  further  and  more  terrifying  form 
among  the  Christians: — Nero  was  coming  back,  not 
from  the  Parthians  but  from  the  dead,  leagued  with 
Satan  to  stand  at  the  head  of  all  the  enemies  of  Christ 
as  the  defiant,  dreadful  Antichrist.  Yet,  many  as 
were  the  forebodings  and  manifestations  of  trouble,  the 
church  was  poorly  prepared  to  meet  the  gathering 
storm.  The  messages  to  the  churches  reveal  that  high 
ideals  had  been  forgotten,  false  teachings  were  suffered 
or  followed,  lukewarmness  was  thought  to  be  spiritual 


322  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

peace  of  mind,  immorality  was  uncondemned  or  even 
practiced.  There  was  need  of  a  servant  of  God  to 
warn,  rebuke  and  denounce,  and  also  to  give  a  message 
of  cheer  and  confidence  for  the  days  of  trial  at  hand. 
The  church  must  he  assured  that,  though  at  times  the 
powers  of  evil  seem  dominant  everywhere,  Christ  is 
still  in  the  midst  of  His  people  to  shield  them  and 
fight  for  them,  and  God  on  His  throne  is  making  the 
wrath  of  man  to  praise  Him.  Rome  has  surrendered 
her  strength  to  Satan,  and  insolently  exults  in  his  ser- 
vice; as  a  judgment  she  shall  be  utterly  destroyed. 
And  the  Antichrist,  exalting  himself  above  God,  shall 
be  cast  down  to  lowest  hell.  In  the  coming  struggle 
there  will  be  hours  of  thick  darkness ;  let  them  not  be 
hours  of  despair.  And  there  is  in  store  for  some  a 
martyr's  death,  but  also  a  martyr's  special  reward  and 
glory.  In  God's  sure  and  speedy  time  the  day  will 
dawn  when  the  new  heaven  and  the  new  earth  shall  be 
established,  and  His  servants  shall  reign  for  ever  and 
ever.  Such  in  general  is  the  message  of  John  and 
with  such  a  background  its  details  should  be  viewed. 

4.    The  Contents  of  the  Book. 

The  Revelation  of  John  has  a  title  or  superscription 
(1:  1-3)  which  apparently  was  prefixed  after  the  book 
was  written,  and  possibly  by  some  one  other  than  John. 
It  assigns  the  revelation  to  Jesus,  explains  the  way 
John  received  it,  and  emphasizes  its  importance.  The 
address  and  salutation  with  a  doxology  (4-6)  seem  to 
belong  specially  to  the  messages  to  the  seven  churches. 
They  are  followed  by  a  solemn  announcement  of  the 
Lord's  coming  (7-8),  which,  like  the  deep  note  of  a 
warning  bell,  commands  anxious  attention.  Then 
John  tells   the  circumstances   of  his   vision  when   in 


THE  REVELATION  OF  JOHN  323 

exile  on  Patmos,  and  strives  to  set  forth  in  symbols 
the  majesty  of  Christ  whom  he  saw  standing  in  the 
midst  of  the  seven  churches,  and  heard  commanding 
him  to  write  a  message  to  each  (9-20).  These  mes- 
sages (2:1-3:22)  have  a  uniform  structure,  viz.,  a 
command  to  write,  a  title  for  Christ  drawn  from  the 
details  of  the  vision  and  suited  to  what  follows,  a 
statement  showing  Christ's  intimate  knowledge  of  the 
church's  condition  and  giving  the  rebuke,  warning,  or 
exhortation  needed,  and  a  promise  to  him  that  over- 
cometh.  Collectively — and  they  were  intended  to  be 
taken  in  that  way — they  place  before  us  the  church 
universal  in  its  various  aspects. 

Ephesus  (2:1-7)  is  the  church  steadfast  and  ortho- 
dox but  lacking  in  love.  In  the  great  metropolis  of 
Asia  it  upholds  the  standards  of  the  faith  against  all 
heretics;  but  in  its  zeal  for  sound  doctrine,  it  has  al- 
lowed Christian  brotherly  love  to  wane,  and  so  is  in 
danger  of  losing  its  place  among  the  churches. 

Smyrna  (8-11)  is  the  church  bravely  suffering  per- 
secutions for  Christ.  Evil-minded  Jews  have  stirred 
up  trouble ;  imprisonment  and  possible  death  are  in  the 
near  future;  but  faithfulness  will  be  rewarded  with 
life  eternal. 

Pergamum  (12-17)  is  the  church  steadfast  among 
savage  foes,  but  lacking  spiritual  discrimination.  Loy- 
alty to  Christ  in  a  city  that  took  the  lead  in  emperor 
worship  has  been  maintained,  though  it  brought  mar- 
tyrdom to  one  faithful  member.  But  with  the  loyalty 
there  has  been  failure  to  recognize  licentious  teachings 
and  practices,  or  at  least  to  stop  their  spread.  This 
fault  must  be  corrected,  else  Christ  will  come  in  judg- 
ment. 

Thyatira  (18-28)  is  the  church  abounding  in  works 


324  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

of  love  and  faith,  but  tolerant  of  evil.  In  a  great  in- 
dustrial center  the  opportunities  for  Christian  minis- 
try have  increasingly  been  used;  but  licentious  or 
gnostic  teachings  have  been  allowed  through  the  in- 
fluence of  an  evil  woman  claiming  to  be  inspired  and 
to  teach  the  deep  things  of  God, — really  of  Satan.  The 
impending  divine  punishment  of  her  and  her  followers 
is  strongly  stated.  Upon  those  who  have  not  followed 
her,  no  other  injunction  is  laid  except  to  hold  fast 
what  they  have  until  Christ  comes. 

Sardis  (3:1-6)  is  the  church  moribund  spiritually. 
Most  of  its  members  have  sunk  to  the  level  of  their 
heathen  neighbours,  and  none  of  its  works  are  perfect. 
Unless  the  lost  faith  is  regained,  sudden  judgment  will 
come.  As  for  the  few  who  have  remained  undefiled, 
they  shall  walk  with  Christ  in  white,  for  they  are 
worthy. 

Philadelphia  (7-13)  is  the  church  feeble  yet  fight- 
ing openly  and  stoutly.  Like  Smyrna  its  enemies  are 
Jews,  and  tbe  message  to  it  contains  nothing  but 
praise.  Its  faithfulness  will  be  rewarded  in  the  im- 
pending, imiversal  hour  of  trial. 

Laodicea  (14-22)  is  the  church  self-satisfied  and 
apathetic.  It  fails  to  recognize  its  utterly  wretched 
state,  and  alone  of  all  the  churches  wins  no  word  of 
praise.  Warning,  invitation  and  promise  are  extended 
to  rouse  it  from  the  most  hopeless  of  conditions  to  the 
most  blessed  of  rewards. 

The  purely  apocalyptic  section  of  the  book,  the 
revelation  of  "  things  which  must  come  to  pass  here- 
after," opens  with  two  companion  visions,  to  which 
John  is  summoned  by  the  voice  he  heard  before  his 
first  vision.  God  is  revealed  as  the  author  of  all 
things,  gloriously  enthroned  in  heaven  and  surrounded 


THE  REVELATION  OF  JOHN  325 

by  the  highest  angelic  beings,  who  render  Him  unceas- 
ing worship  (4;  1-11).  In  His  keeping  is  the  record 
of  all  future  events,  a  book  or  roll  sealed  with  seven 
seals  which,  John  learns  with  sorrow,  no  one  is  able  or 
worthy  to  open  (5:1-5).  The  second  vision  is  of 
Christ,  the  Lamb,  through  whom  God's  future  pur- 
poses are  made  possible,  and  who  alone  is  empowered 
to  break  the  seals  and  open  the  book.  The  marks  of 
His  sacrificial  death  and  the  tokens  of  His  perfect 
power  and  knowledge  are  evident;  and  when  He  takes 
the  book,  the  angelic  beings  and  all  created  things 
break  forth  into  majestic  hymns  of  adoration  (6-14). 
As  the  first  four  seals  of  the  book  are  opened  succes- 
sively by  Him,  war  as  conquest,  war  as  slaughter, 
famine  and  pestilence, — ^symbolized  by  four  horsemen 
— are  sent  forth  upon  earth  (6:1-8);  the  fifth  seal 
reveals  the  martyrs  in  God's  keeping,  waiting  the  an- 
swer to  their  prayer  that  their  deaths  shall  be  avenged 
(9-11) ;  and  the  sixth  seal  is  followed  by  catastrophes 
in  nature  so  great  and  overwhelming  that  men  in 
terror  believe  the  final  day  of  judgment  is  come 
(12-17).  All  these  woes  are  but  the  prelude  of  the 
dreadful  catastrophes  to  follow  when  the  seventh  seal 
is  opened.  And  to  strengthen  the  hearts  of  the  faith- 
ful, two  visions  are  granted: — first,  of  the  angelic  pro- 
tection God  provides  for  His  servants  on  earth  (7:1-8), 
and  second,  of  the  future  blessedness  of  a  great  multi- 
tude of  the  redeemed  praising  Him  in  the  heavenly 
court  described  before  (9-17).  The  opening  of  the 
seventh  seal  is  followed  by  ominous  silence  and  a  sym- 
bolic act  declaring  that  the  judgments  about  to  follow 
are  God's  answers  to  the  prayers  of  His  saints  and 
martyrs  (8:1-5).  Then  seven  angels  with  trumpets 
summon  these  judgments,  intended  to  produce  repent- 


326  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

ance.  The  first  four  blasts  call  forth  plagues,  some- 
what like  those  of  Egypt  but  far  more  dreadful,  which 
destroy  one-third  of  the  earth,  sea,  fresh  waters  and 
heavenly  bodies,  but  produce  no  change  in  the  hearts 
of  men  (6-12).  The  fifth  blast  brings  the  first  of  three 
woes  (13),  causing  physical  suffering  so  intense  as  to 
make  the  enemies  of  God  long  to  die  (9:  1-12) ;  and 
the  second  woe,  following  the  sixth  blast,  ends  in  the 
death  of  one-third  of  these  enemies,  yet  the  survivors 
do  not  repent  or  give  up  idol  worship  (13-21). 

With  the  seventh  trumpet  broader  and  more  distant 
scenes  are  to  be  revealed ;  and  John,  instead  of  giving 
a  message  to  the  churches  in  Asia,  is  to  ^^  prophesy 
again  concerning  many  peoples  and  nations  and 
tongues  and  kings."  This  transition  is  introduced  by 
the  cry  of  a  mighty  angel  standing  on  land  and  sea; 
by  the  unwritten  utterances  of  the  seven  thunders;  by 
the  solemn  announcement  that  there  shall  be  delay  no 
longer  in  finishing  the  mystery  of  God;  and  by  the 
bestowal  upon  John  of  a  new  message  and  a  new  com- 
mission (10:  1-11).  At  this  point  comes  a  prophecy, 
seemingly  independent  and  perhaps  constructed  from 
older  material  (11:1-13).  Among  the  various  inter- 
pretations of  it,  the  simplest  is  that  it  deals  with  the 
future  of  the  Jews,  and  repeats  in  a  different  form 
what  Paul  states  in  Komans: — that  despite  their  un- 
belief, God  has  not  cast  off  His  chosen  people ;  already 
a  remnant  is  saved,  and  before  the  end  of  the  world 
the  rest  shall  obtain  mercy.  It  was  natural  that  John, 
when  about  to  picture  the  final  overthrow  of  the  pow- 
ers of  evil,  should  pause  to  set  forth  an  event  which  all 
Christians  believed  would  closely  precede  it.  The 
Jews  are  symbolized  by  the  city  of  Jerusalem,  in 
which  the   inner  courts   of  the   temple — the  faithful 


THE  REVELATION  OF  JOHN  327 

remnant — are  under  divine  care  and  seclusion  while 
all  the  rest  is  trampled  by  the  Gentiles.  Two  faithful 
witnesses,  the  law  and  the  prophets,  are  to  bear  their 
testimony  throughout  the  period  of  desecration  until 
the  Antichrist  kills  them,  much  to  the  joy  of  those 
whom  their  words  had  tormented.  But  after  a  short 
time  they  will  revive  and  ascend  to  heaven.  This  and 
a  judgment  destroying  one  tenth  of  the  city  will  cause 
such  fear  that  those  who  survive  will  turn  to  the  God 
of  heaven. 

The  seventh  angel  now  sounds  his  trumpet,  intro- 
ducing the  third  woe;  and,  in  anticipation  of  the  final 
establishment  of  the  Kingdom  of  God,  a  chorus  of 
thanksgiving  arises  in  heaven  (14-19).  Before  de- 
scribing the  great  conflict  just  at  hand,  John  sets 
forth  the  actors  in  it.  The  powers  of  evil  are  a  great 
dragon,  Satan,  furious  because  of  his  overthrow  in 
heaven,  and  seeking  vainly  to  destroy  the  Messiah  and, 
when  thwarted,  His  church  (12:1-17);  a  monstrous 
beast  out  of  the  sea,  the  Roman  government,  acting  as 
the  agent  of  Satan  in  ruling  the  world  and  in  warring 
against  the  saints  (13:  1-10) ;  and  another  beast  (later 
called  the  false  prophet)  from  the  land,  the  imperial 
priesthood,  gaining  authority  from  the  first  beast  and 
compelling  men  by  false  miracles  and  force  to  join  in 
emperor  worship  (11-18).  Opposed  to  these  is  the 
Lamb  with  the  whole  body  of  the  redeemed,  who  form 
His  escort  and  rejoice  in  the  presence  of  God  (14:  1-5). 
The  impending  conflict  is  heralded  by  a  series  of  an- 
gelic messengers  and  heavenly  voices,  announcing  its 
various  events  (6-20)  ;  and  an  anticipatory  vision  is 
granted  of  the  victors  in  heaven  singing  a  song  of 
triumph  and  adoration  (15:1-4),  Seven  resplendent 
angels  now  receive  bowls  filled  with  the  wrath  of  God, 


328  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

tlie  third  woe,  and  pour  them  upon  the  earth,  sea, 
fresh  waters,  sun,  throne  of  the  beast,  Euphrates  and 
air  (15:  5-16:  21).  The  plagues  produced  in  this  way 
are  similar  to  those  called  forth  by  the  trumpets,  but 
far  more  dreadful  and  purely  punitive.  They  culmi- 
nate in  the  destruction  of  the  city  and  dominion  of 
Rome,  leaving  the  field  free  for  the  war  of  the  great 
day  of  God  against  the  hosts  of  Antichrist  which  have 
been  gathered  together  in  Harmagedon. 

The  overthrow  of  Rome  is  too  important  to  be  dis- 
missed with  a  single  verse ;  so  John  goes  on  to  describe 
it  at  length  with  new  imagery.  A  harlot  is  seen,  gor- 
geously attired  and  sitting  upon  a  beast  which  has 
seven  heads  and  ten  horns  (17:1-6);  and  an  angel 
explains,  though  in  veiled  terms,  that  the  harlot  is  the 
great  city  of  Rome,  the  beast  is  the  imperial  power,  its 
seven  heads  are  Roman  emperors,  and  its  ten  horns  are 
the  provincial  rulers  or  powers.  And  he  predicts  that 
the  beast,  transformed  into  a  human  ruler  that  was 
and  is  and  is  yet  to  come  (N^ero  redevivus?)  shall  as 
Antichrist  join  with  the  ten  horns  in  destroying  the 
harlot  (17:7-18).  Then  in  a  passage  of  intense 
power,  similar  to  Ezekiel's  prophecy  against  Tyre,  the 
destruction  of  the  city  is  announced  and  described 
(18: 1-24) ;  and  the  great  hallelujah  chorus  is  heard, 
which  in  heaven  celebrates  this  judgment  of  God  and 
the  perfect  union  of  the  Lamb  with  His  bride,  the 
Church  (19:1-10). 

The  Messiah  Himself,  equipped  for  certain  victory, 
now  comes  forth  with  the  armies  of  heaven  to  confront 
the  powers  of  evil;  and  in  the  battle  of  Harmagedon 
overcomes  the  beast  and  the  false  prophet,  who  are  cast 
into  the  lake  of  fire,  and  slays  all  their  followers,  mak- 
ing their  flesh  food  for  the  birds  of  the  air  (11-21). 


THE  REVELATION  OF  JOHN  329 

The  dragon,  Satan,  is  bound  and  sliiit  up  in  the  abyss 
for  a  thousand  years,  during  which  time  the  martyrs 
and  confessors,  raised  from  the  dead,  live  and  reign 
with  Christ  in  a  world  of  peace  and  holiness  (20: 1-6). 
At  the  close  of  the  millennium  Satan  is  to  be  loosed  and 
allowed  to  assail  the  saints;  but  fire  from  heaven  will 
destroy  his  followers,  and  he  will  be  cast  into  the  lake 
of  fire  forever  (7-10).  Three  glorious  visions  con- 
clude the  apocalyptic  portion  of  the  book: — the  Judge 
upon  the  great  white  throne  with  all  the  dead  standing 
before  Him  to  receive  according  to  their  works 
(11-15)  ;  the  new  heaven  and  new  earth,  free  from 
all  sin  and  impurity  (21:1-8);  and  the  new  Jeru- 
salem, glorious  and  having  the  throne  of  God  and  the 
Lamb  (21:9-22:5).  The  concluding  passages  em- 
phasize the  trustworthiness  of  the  prophecy  of  the 
book,  and  the  imminence  of  its  fulfilment  (22:6-21). 
Such  is  the  book  that  strengthened  Christian  read- 
ers to  meet  a  storm  of  persecution  in  the  days  of  Dio- 
cletian, and  has  done  the  same  many  a  time  since. 
Yet  in  the  search  for  its  meaning  it  has  called  forth 
more  commentaries  and  occupied  more  erratic  minds 
than  any  other  book  of  the  Bible.  Its  revelation  is  of 
"  the  things  which  must  shortly  come  to  pass " 
(22:6);  and  those  who  are  eager  to  know  times  and 
seasons,  seek  for  them  in  the  present  and  the  future 
because  they  did  not  come  to  pass  in  the  past.  But  is 
fulfilment  the  sure  and  only  test  that  a  prediction  is 
inspired  of  God?  If  so,  the  later  Old  Testament 
prophets  would  have  been  forced  to  pronounce  their 
predecessors  false.  So  long  as  human  hearts  have 
power  to  repent,  and  human  wills  can  change  the 
course  of  history,  all  predictions  must  perforce  be  con- 
ditional.    !Nineveh  or  Rome  will  perish  or  endure  ac- 


330  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

cording  to  the  word  of  the  Lord ;  but  that  word  is  "  I 
have  set  before  thee  life  and  death,  the  blessing  and 
the  curse ;  therefore,  choose  life  that  thou  mayest  live  " 
(Deut.  30: 19).  Until  the  choice  is  made,  the  future 
hangs  in  the  balance.  What  the  visions  of  John 
meant  to  him  who  saw  and  those  who  read  at  the  be- 
ginning, we  can  only  conjecture ;  perhaps,  even  as  now, 
they  meant  different  things  to  different  minds.  Of 
one  fact  we  may  be  sure,  that  then  as  now  those  who 
treated  them  as  settled  history  of  the  future  were  en- 
tering upon  a  path  of  disappointment.  But  the  value 
of  the  book  is  to  be  found  in  something  far  different. 
What  is  it  that  fills  these  visions  with  spiritual  power, 
and  makes  them  worthy  a  place  in  the  'New  Testament  ? 
The  strong  declaration  that  Christ  is  ever  in  the  midst 
of  His  church;  that  though  His  people  pass  through 
bitter  suffering,  they  never  pass  beyond  His  care  and 
sure  deliverance;  that  above  the  clash  of  nations  and 
the  fury  of  human  passions  God  on  His  throne  is  shap- 
ing all  to  bring  about  peace  and  righteousness;  that 
the  powers  of  evil  shall  at  last  be  vanquished  and  de- 
stroyed ,  and  that  the  faithful  followers  of  Christ  shall 
be  rewarded  by  a  heavenly  life  of  perfect  union  with 
their  Redeemer  and  Lord.  Such  a  message  of  faith 
and  spiritual  insight  has  perennial  force  and  ever- 
recurring  timeliness.  It  was  first  given  to  those  who 
were  in  sore  trouble;  and  its  present  appeal  is  to 
hearts  that  are  sad  and  anxious.  "  Without  tears  it 
was  not  written,  and  without  tears  it  cannot  be  read." 


XX 

THE  APOSTLE  JOHN 

THE  history  of  the  church  has  been  likened  to  a 
road  that,  beginning  in  the  open,  soon  enters  a 
dark  tunnel  from  which  it  does  not  emerge  for 
some  di^ance.  This  obscure  period  of  the  church's 
progress  is  from  the  closing  years  of  the  first  century 
well  on  towards  the  middle  of  the  second  century.  That 
it  was  a  time  of  progress  we  know ;  for  the  church  when 
it  emerges  from  the  darkness  has  developed  in  many 
ways,  though  some  of  its  changes  may  be  a  cause  for 
regret  rather  than  for  rejoicing.  Naturally  we  are 
eager  to  know  who  were  the  leaders  and  what  were  the 
forces  operative  during  these  decades.  Little  can  be 
discerned  to  satisfy  our  curiosity ;  the  light  is  too  dim. 
One  figure,  however,  stands  forth  with  some  distinct- 
ness as  the  shadows  gather ;  it  is  the  aged  apostle  John, 
the  last  survivor  of  those  who  had  companioned  with 
Jesus  when  the  Word  became  flesh  and  dwelt  among  us. 
Yet  even  upon  him  the  shadows  lie  so  heavy  that  every 
fact  about  his  last  days  and  his  writings  may  be  dis- 
puted or  denied  by  those  who  are  disposed  so  to  do. 
There  are  many  reasons,  as  we  shall  see,  why  such  a 
disposition  exists ;  and  as  a  consequence,  discussions  are 
multiplied  interminably.  To  note  them  is  necessary, 
but  to  join  in  them  at  any  length  is  not  our  purpose. 

1.    The  Labours  of  John. 

From  the  Book  of  Acts  we  gain  but  two  items  con- 
cerning the  labours  of  John : — he  shares  with  Peter  the 

331 


332  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

miracle  of  healing  the  lame  man  at  the  temple  gate, 
followed  bj  imprisonment  and  examination  before  the 
Sanhedrin  (3:1-4:31);  and  some  time  later  he  goes 
on  a  preaching  tour  through  Samaria  with  Peter 
(8:14-25).  He  seems  to  have  made  Jerusalem  his 
home  for  many  years.  Paul  tells  us'  that  the  three  "  pil- 
lars "  of  the  church  there,  with  whom  he  discussed  the 
case  of  Titus,  were  James,  Peter  and  John  (Gal.  2:9). 
The  name  of  John  is  put  last  in  this  statement,  even  as 
it  is  always  put  second  when  joined  with  Peter  or  James 
the  apostle.  The  position  indicates  the  place  John  chose 
for  himself.  Though  belonging  to  the  innermost  circle 
of  Jesus'  disciples,  his  disposition  was  to  assist  rather 
than  to  dominate.  He  did  once  join  in  asking  the 
chief  seats  for  himself  and  his  brother,  but  his 
mother's  ambition  rather  than  his  own  seems  to  have 
prompted  the  request  (Matt.  20 :  20).  There  were  fiery 
passions  slumbering  in  his  bosom,  which  might  make 
him  a  Boanerges,  '^Son  of  thunder"  (Mark  3:17); 
but  what  would  arouse  them  was  an  insult  to  his  Master 
and  not  to  himself  (Luke  9  :  51  f.).  Gentle  yet  strong, 
sympathetic  but  uncompromising  with  evil,  contempla- 
tive though  energetic  when  in  action,  loving  and  be- 
loved, pure  in  heart  and  blessed  with  the  vision  of 
God, — such  was  the  apostle  John. 

Irenaeus  says  that  John  lived  in  Ephesus  down  to  the 
time  of  Trajan  (98-117  a.d.)  ;  and  Irenaeus  ought  to 
know,  since  he  was  a  pupil  of  Polycarp  who  in  turn  was 
a  pupil  of  John.  Polycrates,  too,  a  bishop  of  Ephesus 
shortly  before  200  a.d.^  says  that  John  died  and  was 
buried  there.  He  must  have  left  Jerusalem  before  its 
mad  revolt  against  Eome;  indeed,  no  mention  is  made 
of  his  being  there  when  Paul  made  his  last  visit.  Ephe- 
sus  was   a   center   where    leading    Christian  workers 


THE  APOSTLE  JOHN  333 

("great  luminaries,"  Polycrates  calls  them)  gathered 
after  Jerusalem  was  destroyed,  and  would  be  a  suit- 
able home  for  the  apostle  when  Palestine  had  become 
impossible.  Patmo^,  a  little,  rocky  island  some  forty 
miles  southwest  from  Miletus,  might  well  be  selected  by 
the  Koman  ruler  of  Asia  as  a  place  of  banishment  for 
a  leader  of  the  Christian  church  whom  he  hesitated  to 
put  to  death;  and  here,  during  the  dark  hours  of  Dio- 
cletian's persecution,  if  John  wrote  Kevelation,  the 
visions  were  gained  which  he  published  to  cheer  the 
hearts  of  his  brethren.  Some  recent  scholars  reject  all 
statements  that  connect  John  with  Ephesus.  They 
maintain  that  at  some  unknown  time  and  place  he,  like 
his  brother,  was  put  to  death  by  the  Jews,  and  that  the 
John  who  lived  and  died  in  Ephesus  must  have  been 
another  person,  perhaps  the  one  whom  Papias  mentions 
and  calls  John  the  Presbyter.  The  evidence  for  this  is 
slight,  being  chiefly  certain  very  late  references  to  some 
statement  by  Papias  linking  John's  death  with  that  of 
his  brother, — a  statement  that  may  have  arisen  from 
our  Lord's  prophecy  concerning  the  two  brothers  (Mk. 
10:39).  Certainly  the  clear  and  strong  testimony  of 
Irenaeug  and  others  in  the  second  century  is  not  to  be 
overthrown  by  merely  wHat  a  writer  centuries  later  tells 
us  was  in  a  lost  passage  of  Papias.  Several  charming 
stories  are  told  of  the  apostle's  last  days,  but  we  cannot 
discover  how  far  they  are  purely  legendary.  The  popu- 
lar belief,  caused  by  a  misunderstanding  of  Je^s' 
words  (John  21:22  f.),  that  John  was  to  live  until 
his  Lord's  return,  would  gain  increasing  credence  as  the 
apostles  one  after  another  passed  away,  and  he  still  sur- 
vived ;  and  the  Christians  of  the  second  generation  must 
have  looked  upon  him  with  deepening  veneration  and 
almost  awe.     He  died  a  natural  death,  so  it  is  said. 


334  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

Thus  the  two  brothers  in  different  ways  drank  the  cup 
of  their  Master, — James  by  an  early  martyrdom,  and 
John  by  bearing  the  burdens  of  the  church  to  extreme 
old  age. 

2.    What  Did  John  Write? 

A  gospel,  three  epistles  and  an  apocalypse  are  ag- 
dgned  to  the  apostle  John;  but  the  gospel  and  the 
longer  epistle  give  no  author's  name;  the  two  short 
epistles  reveal  only  that  they  were  written  by  "the 
elder  f  and  the  John  who  wrote  the  apocalypse  and  calls 
himself  "your  brother  in  Christ"  (1:9),  seems  to 
claim  a  place  among  the  prophets  rather  than  among  the 
apostles  (22:9).  Evidently  there  is  opportunity  for 
the  discussion  which  has  in  recent  days  been  carried  on 
unceasingly  over  the  authorship  of  these  five  books. 
The  Fourth  Gospel  is  the  center  of  the  debate,  the  other 
books  being  considered  chiefly  in  their  relation  to  it. 
The  importance  of  determining  whether  that  Gospel 
is  a  trustworthy  record  of  the  life  of  Jesus  by  one  who 
stood  in  the  closest  relations  to  Him,  justifies  all  the 
time  spent  in  determining  who  wrote  it.  Unfortunately 
in  the  multitude  of  treatises  upon  this  subject  we  often 
seem  to  find  the  spirit,  not  so  much  of  the  scholar  seek- 
ing solely  to  ascertain  the  truth  as  of  the  advocate  who, 
having  already  taken  his  position,  emphasizes  unduly 
every  point  in  his  favour,  and  minimizes  all  that  counts 
against  him. 

Dealing  first  with  the  gospel  and  the  three  epistles, 
we  may  fairly,  I  think,  summarize  the  verdict  of  the 
second  and  third  centuries  in  three  statements: 

1.  The  four  books  are  by  the  same  author.  This  is 
evidenced  by  their  close  resemblance  in  vocabulary,  in  a 
style  unlike  that  of  any  other  New  Testament  book,  in 


THE  APOSTLE  JOHN  335 

keywords  such  as  light,  life,  love,  the  world,  to  know 
and  to  believe,  and  in  the  leading  idea^.  The  shorter 
epistles  furnish  little  material  for  comparison;  yet 
they, — especially  II  John, — are  so  much  like  I  John 
that  the  latest  commentator  says,  ^'  So  far  as  their  ori- 
gin is  concerned,  it  is  difficult  to  separate  the  two 
shorter  epistles  from  the  First "  (Btooke).  In  the  case 
of  the  Fourth  Gospel  and  I  John  the  similarity  is  so 
great  that  even  those  who  deny  the  same  authorship,  are 
sure  that  their  two  authors  mu^  have  been  closely  con- 
nected in  training  and  thought, — ^were  members,  per- 
haps, of  one  special  group  at  Ephesus.  But  it  is  easier 
to  explain  certain  underlying  differences,  which 
these  students  think  they  find,  by  different  themes  and 
different  moodg  in  the  same  author  than  to  suppose  that 
two  writers,  no  matter  what  their  training,  could  be  so 
completely  each  the  double  of  the  other. 

2.  The  author  was  an  eye-witness  of  the  public  min- 
istry of  Jesus.  In  I  John  he  speaks  as  one  of  a  group 
of  such  witnesses  (1:1-3;  4: 14)  ;  in  the  gospel  he  does 
the  same  (1:14;  19:35),  and  also  calls  himself  "the 
disciple  whom  Jesus  loved"  (13:23;  19:26;  21:7, 
20).  That  this  beloved  disciple  was  the  author,  is  at- 
te^ed  by  a  note  appended  to  the  gospel  by  certain  per- 
sons who  claim  to  know  him  and  vouch  for  his  trust- 
worthiness (21:24);  and  the  narrative  throughout 
bears  marks  of  having  been  written  by  one  who  belonged 
to  the  innermost  circle  of  the  Twelve.  ISTearly  every 
chapter  has  some  incidental  touch  which  only  an  eye- 
witness and  participant  would  give ;  to  point  these  out 
would  be  almost  to  write  a  commentary  on  the  book. 
A  modem  novella,  professing  to  write  personal  remi- 
niscences, might  take  pains  to  put  in  such  touches;  a 
writer  of  fiction  in  the  second  century  would  never 


336  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

think  to  do  so;  and  even  the  modern  novelist  would 
find  his  skill  taxed  to  supply  such  delicate  and  seem- 
ingly unconscious  indications  of  the  writer's  undeclared 
participation  in  what  he  narrates. 

3.     The  author  was  no  other  than  the  apostle  John. 
Despite  the  anonymous  form  of  the  First  Epistle,  there 
never  was  any  doubt  in  the  early  church  that  John 
wrote  it.     The  epistle  seems  to  have  been  widely  circu- 
lated, and  every^v'here  received  by  scholars  and  by  all 
Christians  as  the  message  of  the  apostle.      That  the 
writer  of  II  John  and  III  John  should  call  himself 
"the  elder,"  and  be  defied  by  Diotrophes,  caused  some 
debate  in  the  third  century  over  their  authorship;  but 
this  was  because  by  that  time  the  apostles  were  held 
in  such  reverence  that  it  seemed  unnatural  for  them 
not  to  claim  apostolic  rank  and  power  at  all  times.    We 
know  that  the  term  "  the  elders,"  was  used  early  in  the 
second  century,  not  only  as  an  official  title,  but  also  as 
a  designation  of  the  men  of  the  previous  generation 
who  had  been  leaders  in  the  church.    Perhaps  John  called 
himself  ''the  elder,"  as  being  the  last  of  this  group; 
but  he  may  have  used  the  tenn  in  self-abnegation,  as  he 
did  ''  the  disciple  whom  Jesus  loved,"  showing  by  these 
that  he  sought  no  authority  Save  that  which  comes  from 
old  age,  and  put  forth  no  other  claim  to  honour  or  re- 
membrance beyond  the  fact  that  Jesus  graciously  be- 
stowed His  love  upon  him.      Concerning  the  Fourth 
Gospel  there  was  in  the  second  century  some  dispute.  An 
obscure  sect,  seemingly  small  in  numbers,  rejected  the 
doctrine  of  the  Logos  set  forth  in  it,  and  tried  to  dis- 
credit both  it  and  Revelation  by  assigning  them  to  the 
gnostic,  Cerinthus,  an  opponent  of  John.    There  is  some 
slight  evidence  that  a  few  other  heretics,  also,  rejected 
the  Gospel.     But  with  these  exceptions  heretics  as  well 


THE  APOSTLE  JOHN  337 

as  orthodox  writers  agreed  that  it  was  by  the  apos-tle. 
Much  is  sometimes  made  of  the  silence  concerning  this 
gospel  in  the  first  half  of  the  second  century;  but  we 
must  bear  in  mind  how  few  are  the  writings  preserved 
from  that  period,  and  how  naturally  familiarity  with 
the  Oral  Gospel  or  with  its  reproduction  in  the  Synop- 
tics would  make  men  turn  to  that  source  for  quotations 
and  references,  rather  than  to  a  gospel  that  was  just 
getting  into  circulation.  By  the  last  third  of  the  cen- 
tury the  book  was  receiving  the  emphasis  it  deserved. 
The  great  scholars  from  that  time  on  believed,  and  were 
sure  they  had  good  reason  for  believing,  that  the 
Fourth  Gospel  was  by  John  the  apostle,  and  gave  the 
deepest,  mo^  precious  revelation  of  his  Lord.  And 
the  church  throughout  the  later  ages,  despite  all  efforts 
to  prove  this  gospel  unapostolic  and  untrustworthy,  has 
accepted  their  verdict. 

The  Book  of  Revelation,  though  at  first  accepted  as 
from  the  apostle,  had  later  on  to  run  the  gauntlet  of 
criticism.  Its  marked  difference  in  character  from  the 
other  books,  its  enigmatic  contents  and  the  fact  that 
fanatics  used  it  then,  as  they  do  now,  to  support  wild 
and  unwholesome  doctrines,  made  men  even  in  the  third 
century  question  its  apostolic  origin,  thinking  thereby  to 
invalidate  its  inspiration.  They  dwelt  on  its  evident 
unlikeness  to  the  Fourth  Gospel  and  I  John,  both  in 
language  and  in  spirit.  The  Greek  of  Eevelation  is  by 
far  the  worst  in  the  New  Testament,  full  of  ungram- 
matical  constructions ;  while  that  of  the  other  two  books, 
though  Hebraic  in  style,  is  uniformly  good.  And  the 
spirit  of  Revelation  is  narrow  and  vindictive,  lacking 
the  universality,  gentleness  and  love  which  characterize 
the  other  writings  of  John.  The  missionary  spirit  of 
Christianity  finds  almost  no  saipport  or  expression  in  the 


338  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

book.  Is  it  possible,  these  ancient  critics  asked,  tbat  the 
apostle  whom  Jesus  loved  and  whose  own  favourite  in- 
junction, so  tradition  says,  was  ^^  Little  children,  love 
one  another,''  could  have  written  such  a  merciless  book 
as  this  ?  These  arguments  have  been  revived  in  modern 
days,  though  usually  now  they  are  directed  against  the 
apostolic  authorship  of  the  gospel.  Granted,  so  it  is 
said  to-day,  that  the  apostle  is  the  John  of  Revelation, 
such  marked  differences  prove  that  he  could  not  have 
been  the  author  of  the  Fourth  Gospel.  It  is  not  easy  to 
answer  this.  The  difference  in  Greek  may  be  accounted 
for  by  supposing  either  that  the  solecisms  of  the 
apocalypse  were  intentional,  their  object  being  to  make 
the  statements  more  unusual  and  impressive,  or  that 
John  himself  in  exile  and  with  imperfect  mastery  of 
Greek  wrote  the  apocalypse,  while  for  the  gospel  later 
on  he  had  the  aid  of  an  amanuensis  who  expressed  in 
correct  Greek  the  thoughts  John  uttered  in  Aramaic, 
his  native  tongue.  And  concerning  the  difference  in 
spirit,  there  are  two  solutions.  One  is  that  John  wrote 
the  apocalypse  in  middle  life  when  the  fiery  spirit  of  a 
Boanerges  still  filled  his  breast,  and  the  gospel  in  his  old 
age  when  love  had  become  the  supreme  emotion.  Or, 
if  it  is  recognized  that  the  Apocalypse  belongs  to  the 
time  of  Domitian  when  John  was  already  old,  then  the 
answer  is  that  an  apocalypse  from  its  very  nature  must 
picture  the  vengeance  of  God  upon  the  enemies  of  the 
church, — the  wrath  of  the  Lamb ;  and  in  writing  it  the 
apostle  had  no  opportunity  or  no  occasion  to  proclaim 
the  message  of  love.  How  successful  these  replies  are, 
must  be  left  to  the  opinion  of  each  individual  student. 
Certainly  if  we  are  forced  to  surrender  apostolic  author- 
ship for  either  the  gospel  or  the  apocalypse,  we  would 
prefer  to  assign  the  latter  book  to  John  the  Presbyter, 


THE  APOSTLE  JOHN  339 

as  Eusebius  suggested,  or  to  some  unknown  John.  But 
how  about  the  unquestioning  ascription  of  it  to  the 
apostle  in  the  second  century  ?  Copies  of  the  book  must 
have  been  sent  at  the  very  outset  to  the  seven  churches 
of  Asia,  and  those  who  received  them  must  have  known 
from  whom  they  came.  To  suppose  that  having  accepted 
it  from  some  other  John,  they  presently  with  one  accord 
pronounced  it  to  be  by  the  apostle,  is  to  treat  the  Chris- 
tians of  that  age  as  lacking  either  in  ordinary  intelli- 
gence or  in  honesty. 

3.     The  First  Epistle  of  John. 

Is  this  an  epistle  ?  It  has  no  address  or  salutations, 
no  names  of  persons  or  places,  no  hint  of  destination; 
and  yet  it  is  personal  in  tone  and  shows  evident  familiar- 
ity with  the  spiritual  condition  of  its  readers.  It  may 
have  been  a  circular  letter  meant  for  all  the  churches 
in  Asia  over  which  John  had  oversight.  Certainly  he 
had  in  mind  a  definite  group  of  readers  as  he  wrote.  Its 
close  connection  with  the  Fourth  Gospel  makes  some 
suppose  that  it  was  written  to  be  sent  along  with  that 
gospel,  and  others  that  it  was  written  later  to  reinforce 
that  gospel's  message.  Evidently  its  writer  takes  for 
granted  that  his  readers  know  the  teachings  of  the 
Fourth  Gospel ;  but  these  teachings  must  have  been  pro- 
mulgated orally  before  they  were  put  in  written  form. 
As  for  its  date,  everything  indicates  that  the  writer  was 
an  old  man,  addressing  believers  who  lived  when  Chris- 
tian thought  was  fully  developed.  We  must  place  it 
near  the  close  of  the  century  when  John,  if  we  suppose 
he  was  a  lad  in  his  teens  during  Jesus'  public  minis- 
try, would  be  nearly  ninety.  It  moves  so  entirely  in 
the  realm  of  the  spiritual  that  no  room  is  given  for 
political  events;  yet  the  omission  of  any  reference  to 


340  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

persecution  seems  unlikely,  liad  Domitian  then  been 
seeking  to  crush  out  the  church.  The  peaceful  years 
of  jSTerva  (96-98  a.d.)  or  the  opening  of  Trajan's  reign 
is  a  likely  date. 

What  moved  the  aged  apostle  to  write  ?  He  says  it 
was  his  desire  that  his  '^  children  might  have  fellowship 
with  the  Father  and  with  His  Son,  Jesus  Christ,  and 
so  their  joy  be  made  full "  (1:1-3),  and  also  that  they 
might  know  that  they  had  eternal  life  (5:  13).  He  is 
writing  to  Christians  of  the  second  or  third  genera- 
tion. ^^  The  enthusiasm  of  the  early  days  of  the  Faith 
is  no  longer  theirs.  Many  of  them  had  been  brought 
up  as  Christians,  and  did  not  owe  their  faith  to  strong 
personal  conviction  or  experience.  Their  Christianity 
had  become  largely  traditional,  half-hearted  and  nomi- 
nal. They  found  the  moral  obligations  of  their  religion 
oppressive.  The  world  had  great  attractions  for  them  " 
(Brooke).  As  a  result,  while  they  were  not  unbeliev- 
ing, they  had  no  heartening  assurance  of  truth  through 
personal  experience,  such  as  characterized  the  genera- 
tion to  which  John  belonged.  They  failed  to  know  that 
which  they  believed.  So  John,  desiring  to  bring  them 
to  that  fullness  of  Christian  knowledge  from  which 
springs  the  fullness  of  Christian  life,  declares  unto 
them  the  eternal  truths  which  may  be  used  as  tests 
whereby  they  shall  know  that  they  have  eternal  life. 
The  central  ideas  of  the  epistle  are  few  in  number, — 
righteousness,  life,  light  and  love;  and  concerning 
these  John  does  not  argue  but  affirm.  "  He  had  no 
laboured  process  to  go  through;  he  saw.  He  had  no 
constructive  proof  to  develop;  he  bore  witness" 
(Westcott).  To  some  readers  he  is  monotonous  and 
unattractive;  his  lack  of  logical  order  and  progress  in 
thought  seems  to  them  ^' the  feebleness  of  old  age." 


THE  APOSTLE  JOHN  341 

To  others  he  is  most  stimulating  and  impressive;  and 
his  words  are  like  waters  so  clear  that  sometimes  one 
fails  to  realize  their  depths. 

Another  evident  purpose  of  the  epistle  is  to  comhat 
a  heresy  which  John  calls  the  "  anti-Christ/'  viz. :  the 
denial  that  Jesus  is  the  Christ  come  in  the  flesh  (2 :  22 ; 
4:2-3).  The  gnostics  with  their  doctrine  that  matter 
is  evil  and  that  sin  and  suffering  are  impossible  for  a 
divine  being,  refused  to  accept  the  full  humanity  of 
Jesus.  Some  held  concerning  His  whole  life,  what 
some  hold  to-day  concerning  His  appearances  after  the 
resurrection,  that  it  was  purely  visionary : — He  seemed 
to  have  a  body  of  flesh  and  to  suffer  and  die,  but  it  was 
only  seeming.  Others  distinguished,  as  some  do  to-day, 
between  the  human  Jesus  and  the  divine  Christ,  and 
maintained  that  the  two  were  joined  in  the  period  only 
from  the  baptism  to  Gethsemane,  so  that  it  was  the  son 
of  Mary  and  not  the  Son  of  God  who  lay  as  a  babe  in 
the  manger  and  poured  out  his  life  upon  the  cross. 
The  gnostic,  Cerinthus,  taught  this  latter  view ;  and  he 
and  his  followers,  so  Irenaeus  says,  were  those  against 
whom  John  was  writing  his  denunciations,  declaring 
that  their  rejection  of  '^  that  which  ye  heard  from  the 
beginning"  was  a  denial  of  the  Father  as  well  as  of 
the  'Son  (2:23  f.),  and  a  rejection  of  the  witness  of 
God  (5:10).  His  words  come  with  special  fitness  to 
us  in  the  present  day.  The  recent  centering  of  thought 
upon  the  human  side  of  the  life  of  Our  Lord,  which 
has  wrought  such  excellent  results  in  making  Him 
stand  out  as  a  distinct  figure  moving  among  men  of 
His  age  and  shaping  His  life  to  meet  their  thoughts 
and  needs,  has  had  the  unfortunate  effect  of  creating 
a  tendency  to  ignore  or  deny  the  deity  in  Him.  Be- 
cause we  are  so  constantly  exhorted  to  behold  the  Man, 


342  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

we  are  in  danger  of  seeing  nothing  else.  The  truths 
set  forth  by  John,  not  for  mere  intellectual  assent  but 
as  a  motive  principle  of  the  Christian  life,  need  re- 
newed emphasis  and  constant  repetition. 

Anything  like  a  formal  analysis  of  the  epistle  is  al- 
most impossible.  Its  three  great  statements,  God  is 
light  (1:5),  God  is  righteous  (3:7)  and  God  is  love 
(4:8)  have  been  used  to  divide  it  into  three  main  sec- 
tions. Fellowship  with  God  and  man, — its  conditions, 
dangers,  character,  and  results, — ^has  been  suggested  as 
the  theme  and  its  development.  And  there  are  many 
other  attempts  to  find  a  definite  order  of  thought  in 
John's  successive  statements.  But  the  search  is  for 
that  which  does  not  exist.  The  epistle  is  a  heap  of  un- 
strung pearls  which  may  be  arranged  in  any  order 
without  lessening  their  beauty. 

4.     The  Second  and  Third  Epistles  of  John. 

Letters  and  personal  notes,  carried  by  special  mes- 
sengers or  by  those  who  were  journeying  among  the 
churches,  must  have  passed  frequently  between  the 
early  Christians;  for  the  age  was  one  of  correspond- 
ence, as  the  discovery  of  large  numbers  of  letters  writ- 
ten by  all  sorts  of  people  on  all  sorts  of  occasions  shows. 
Of  such  private  letters  by  Christians,  only  these  two, 
besides  Philemon  and  Eom.  XVI,  remain;  and  their 
preservation  was  doubtless  more  by  accident  than  be- 
cause of  their  importance.  Indeed,  the  insignificance 
of  II  and  III  John,  quite  as  much  as  doubt  about  their 
apostolic  authorship,  was  the  cause  of  the  hesitancy 
with  which  they  were  placed  in  the  ^ew  Testament 
canon.  Had  they  been  allowed  to  perish,  no  doctrine 
of  the  church  would  have  suffered;  but  they  throw  a 
little  liffht  on  church  life  towards  the  end  of  the  first 


THE  APOSTLE  JOHN  343 

century,    and   are   a  precious   memorial   of  the   aged 
apostle. 

One  unsolved  problem  about  II  John  is  its  destina- 
tion. Is  "  the  elect  lady ''  a  metaphorical  terai  for 
some  church  whose  members  are  her  children,  or  does 
the  apostle  address  an  individual,  either  unnamed  or 
called  the  lady  Electa  or  the  elect  Kyria?  Scholars 
by  no  means  agree,  but  a  church  seems  more  probable, 
in  which  case  the  closing  salutation  is  from  the  mem- 
bers of  a  sister  church,  perhaps  in  Ephesus.  It  is  not 
likely  that  Gains  of  III  John  was  a  member  of  this 
church  of  II  John;  for,  though  both  letters  deal  with 
the  reception  and  treatment  of  itinerant  teachers,  the 
conditions  revealed  in  each  are  decidedly  unlike.  Yet 
the  two  are  so  identical  in  their  opening  and  close  that 
they  must  have  been  written  at  nearly  the  same  time; 
and  as  both  are  merely  preliminary  to  the  coming  of 
the  writer,  we  may  suppose  them  to  have  been  sent  by 
John  to  two  churches  not  far  from  Ephesus,  when  he 
was  about  to  make  a  tour  of  oversight.  At  the  period 
we  have  now  reached,  Christianity  had  spread  far  and 
wide.  The  number  of  Christians  at  the  end  of  the  first 
century  has  been  reckoned  as  high  as  half  a  million; 
and,  as  they  were  largely  confined  to  the  cities,  there 
must  have  been  a  church  of  some  size  in  almost  every 
considerable  city  of  the  empire.  Travel  was  easy;  so 
preachers  and  teachers  journeyed  constantly  among 
the  churches,  using  such  powers  as  they  possessed  for 
their  edification.  They  were  often  self-appointed  and 
without  supervision;  and,  though  they  might  bear 
"letters  of  commendation"  (II  Cor.  3:1;  I  Cor. 
16:  3),  the  danger  is  evident  that  in  their  ranks  would 
be  some  who  took  this  opportunity  to  spread  heresies, 
finding  the  young  churches  eager  for  new  ideas  and  not 


344  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

always  able  to  discriminate  between  truth  and  error. 
It  was  in  warning  against  such  deceivers  that  John 
wrote  to  "  the  elect  lady."  Men  preaching  the  same 
gnostic  doctrines  that  he  denounced  in  the  First  Epis- 
tle, were  abroad ;  and  the  church  must  be  on  its  guard, 
testing  all  by  the  teaching  of  Christ,  and  refusing  ad- 
mission or  even  greeting  to  any  who  abode  not  in  that 
teaching. 

Besides  these  traveling  teachers  who  sought  to  in- 
struct the  Christians,  there  were  traveling  evangelists 
who  addressed  themselves  to  the  heathen.  It  is  a  band 
of  these  whom  Gains  is  asked  to  set  forward  on  their 
journey.  There  was  ever  the  possibility  that  a  true 
brother  in  Christ  might  be  denied  a  hearing  or  even 
Christian  hospitality,  if  the  leaders  in  a  church  had 
grown  unduly  suspicious  of  strangers,  or  were  jealous 
of  the  influence  newcomers  might  exert.  The  latter 
seems  to  have  been  the  case  with  Diotrephes.  To  pre- 
serve his  own  cherished  preeminence,  he  had  refused 
to^receive  certain  brethren  who  had  come  with  a  letter 
of  commendation  from  John,  and  had  done  his  utmost 
to  keep  others  from  receiving  them.  Opposed  to  him 
in  spirit  and  action,  and  possibly  threatened  by  him 
with  excommunication,  was  Gains  whose  unfailing  hos- 
pitality had  been  reported  to  John  by  those  who  en- 
joyed it.  To  him,  then,  John  writes,  since  a  letter  to 
the  church  will  be  blocked  by  Diotrephes,  and  com- 
mends to  his  confidence  Demetrius,  who  may  have  been 
one  of  a  band  of  evangelists  whom  Gains  is  now  asked 
to  entertain.  What  we  are  specially  interested  to  note 
is  the  growing  independence  of  the  individual  church, 
and  the  increasing  authority  of  its  leader.  By  the  very 
term,  ^'  the  elect  lady,"  John  recognized  that  the 
church  to  which  he  is  writing  had  its  own  separate,  in- 


THE  APOSTLE  JOHN  345 

dependent  life, — a  fact  wliich  Paul,  to  whom  the  whole 
church  was  the  one,  indivisible  body  of  Christ,  would 
have  been  slow  to  concede.  And  though  John  was  still 
exercising  the  authority  of  a  father  over  those  whom 
he  calls  ^'  my  children,"  laying  down  rules  and  promis- 
ing rewards,  bestowing  praise  or  censure,  Diotrephes 
backed  by  a  majority  of  his  church  would  have  nothing 
to  do  with  the  apostle's  instruction  in  his  absence,  and 
would  be  hard  to  bring  to  obedience  when  he  did  ap- 
pear. Whatever  power  John  now  had,  came  rather 
from  personal  influence  than  from  apostolic  office,  and 
could  not  be  transferred  to  a  successor. 

5.     The  Gospel  of  John. 

The  important  problem  of  the  Fourth  Gospel  is  its 
trustworthiness.  Can  we  accept  as  true  the  wonderful 
picture  of  Jesus  it  sets  before  us  ?  The  question  is  not 
disposed  of  by  proving  that  John  did  or  did  not  write 
the  book.  The  aged  apostle  may  unconsciously  have 
mingled  the  ideal  with  the  real  in  his  reminiscences; 
this  is  possible  though  not  probable.  And  on  the  other 
hand,  if  the  author  was  some  disciple  of  the  apostle  or 
some  other  John  who  had  excellent  sources  of  informa- 
tion and  used  them  truthfully,  his  statements  may  be 
thoroughly  reliable.  Apart  then  from  authorship  what 
about  the  credibility  of  this  gospel? 

Some  view  it  with  suspicion  from  the  fact  that  it  sets 
forth  so  clearly  the  deity  of  Christ,  from  prologue  to 
close  proclaiming  Him  the  Only  Begotten  Son  of  God. 
They  say  this  is  the  Christology  of  Paul;  and  the 
Fourth  Gospel  is  simply  Pauline  preaching  put  into 
the  form  of  a  biography.  But  was  Paul's  Christology 
correct,  and  upon  what  facts  in  Jesus'  life — ^for  he  had 
plenty  of  opportunity  to  learn  the  facts — did  he  base 


346  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

it,  if  not  upon  sucli  as  John  narrates  ?  And,  supposing 
we  reject  the  Fourth  Gospel,  are  there  not  passages  in 
the  Synoptics  that  proclaim  the  deity  of  Jesus  just  as 
clearly  ?  The  Gospel  of  Mark  is  supposed  to  give  the 
earliest  picture  of  Jesus,  "  yet  no  gospel  of  the  four  is 
more  emphatic  upon  the  superhuman  quality  of  Jesus' 
nature;  this  is  not  insisted  upon  but  rather  spontane- 
ously assumed  throughout  as  the  one  thing  that  im- 
pressed the  beholder  most"  (R.  J.  Campbell).  ISTever- 
theless,  the  chief  difficulty  in  accepting  the  Fourth 
Gospel  does  arise  from  the  many  ways  in  which  it  dif- 
fers markedly  from  the  Synoptics.  These  can  be  only 
briefly  indicated  and  discussed;  I  have  treated  them 
more  fully  in  my  Introduction  to  the  Life  of  Christ. 

According  to  the  Synoptics,  Jesus  began  His  minis- 
try after  the  Baptist  was  imprisoned;  His  field  was 
Galilee  and  the  coasts  until  the  last  week  in  Jeru- 
salem; His  ministry  met  with  great  success  at  first; 
and  the  shadow  of  the  cross  did  not  appear  till  toward 
the  close.  Only  one  Passover  is  mentioned,  and  the 
whole  period  seems  to  be  little  more  than  a  year.  Ac- 
cording to  John,  Jesus  gathered  disciples  and  preached 
in  Judea  while  the  Baptist  was  still  working;  opposi- 
tion and  prediction  of  death  come  at  the  very  outset; 
repeated  visits  to  Jerusalem  occupy  almo^  the  whole  of 
the  book;  and  two  Passovers,  if  not  three,  are  recorded. 
Again,  the  teachings  of  Jesus  in  John  differ  greatly 
from  those  in  the  Synoptics.  Instead  of  short,  preg- 
nant and  usually  practical  sayings  with  numerous  par- 
ables, we  find  long  discourses  on  particular  themes, 
theological  and  profound,  and  also  allegories;  the  mis- 
sion of  Jesus  is  represented  as  universal  rather  than  as 
directly  to  the  Jews;  and  we  hear  only  once  of  the 
Kingdom  of  God  but  often  about  eternal  life.     The 


THE  APOSTLE  JOHN  347 

words  and  style  of  the  speeches  of  Jesus  so  closely  re- 
semble those  of  John  in  the  prologue  or  in  the  First 
Epistle  that  it  is  hard  to  distinguish  between  His  words 
and  John's  comments  on  them,  e.g.,  is  John  3 :  16  by 
Jesus  or  by  John  ?  Still  again,  there  is  a  marked  dif- 
ference in  His  self-revelation.  In  the  Synoptics  He 
is  silent  about  His  own  claims  until  the  disciples  waken 
to  the  fact  that  He  is  the  Christ;  and  even  then  He 
bids  them  not  to  tell  it,  and  does  not  make  an  open 
proclamation  until  the  last  week  of  His  life.  In  John 
there  is  no  such  reserve  and  progressive  revelation. 
The  Baptist  points  Him  out  as  the  Lamb  of  God;  the 
first  disciples  hail  Him  as  the  Son  of  God ;  and  in  His 
public  discourses  he  constantly  emphasizes  His  rela- 
tion to  the  Father.  The  miracles  in  the  Synoptics  are 
a  manifestation  of  His  power  and  sympathy,  but  in 
John  they  are  a  revelation  of  His  divinity  and  are 
usually  the  text  for  a  discourse.  How  can  we  recon- 
cile these  differences,  exaggerated  though  some  of  them 
undoubtedly  have  been?  For  if  we  cannot,  we  must 
choose  between  John  and  the  Synoptics ;  and  the  choice 
would  probably  be  the  latter. 

John  closes  his  book  (the  last  chapter  is  an  ap- 
pendix) with  two  statements  (20:30-31)  which  bear 
upon  the  problem  we  are  discussing.  He  says,  ^'  Many 
other  signs  did  Jesus  in  the  presence  of  His  disciples 
that  are  not  written  in  this  book."  Evidently  John 
professes  to  give  only  certain  passages  in  the  life  of 
Christ,  and  his  gospel  is  no  more  a  biography  than  was 
the  Oral  Gospel  on  which  the  Synoptics  are  based. 
The  Synoptics  were  already  in  circulation,  and  to  re- 
peat their  contents  would  be  useless;  so  John  supple- 
ments them  with  further  incidents.  That  his  gospel 
was  supplementary  was  recognized  by  those  who  read 


348  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

it  in  the  second  century;  and  Tatian  wove  it  in  with 
the  other  three  without  difficulty,  even  as  our  modern 
Harmonies  do.  Not  infrequently  it  throws  light  upon 
the  others ;  e.g.,  the  lament  over  Jerusalem,  "  How 
often  would  I  have  gathered  thy  children "  (Luke 
13 :  34)  is  inexplicahle  until  we  learn  from  John  that 
Jesus  had  repeatedly  preached  in  Jerusalem.  Some- 
times it  seems  to  correct  the  Synoptics,  notahly  in  re- 
gard to  the  time  when  the  Last  Supper  was  eaten. 
And  ever  it  places  before  us  not  a  new  life  of  Jesus 
but  simply  new  chapters  in  that  life,  the  great  ma- 
jority being  still  unwritten.  What  guided  John  in  his 
selection  of  these  special  chapters,  his  second  statement 
reveals : — "  These  are  written  that  ye  may  believe  that 
Jesus  is  the  Christ,  the  Son  of  God,  and  that  believing 
ye  may  have  life  in  His  name"  (20:  31).  The  pur- 
pose was  the  same  as  that  which  called  forth  his  First 
Epistle,  viz. :  the  defence  of  the  deity  of  Jesus  against 
those  gnostic  heretics  who  were  assailing  it.  And  to 
accomplish  it  the  apostle  chose  certain  scenes  whore 
Jesus  most  fully  revealed  Himself, — the  bitter  battles 
with  the  theological  leaders  at  Jerusalem,  and  the  inti- 
mate hours  with  His  disciples  alone.  Moreover,  the 
Synoptics  are  narration;  the  Fourth  Gospel  is  also  in- 
terpretation. The  one  pictures  Jesus  as  the  men  to 
whom  He  spoke  saw  Him;  the  other  sets  Him  forth 
as  they  might  have  seen  Him  had  they  looked  and  lis- 
tened with  spiritual  discernment.  Concerning  the 
speeches  of  Jesus  in  the  Fourth  Gospel  I  think  we 
must  agree  that,  while  the  thought  is  Our  Lord's  the 
words  are  John's.  That  which  Jesus  from  the  nature 
of  His  hearers  had  to  set  forth  briefly  and  sometimes 
obscurely,  John  gives  us  clearly  and  at  length,  even  as 
its  meaning  has  revealed  itself  to  him  through  years 


THE  APOSTLE  JOHN  349 

of  increasing  growth  into  the  mind  of  the  Master. 
Unless  we  prefer  to  put  ourselves  back  among  those 
who  listened  stupidly  or  with  hostility  in  the  begin- 
ning, we  should  rejoice  that  we  can  hear  the  Master 
through  the  lips  of  one  who  listened  with  love,  and  in- 
creasingly grew  into  better  understanding. 

The  Fourth  Gospel  was  early  called  the  spiritual 
gospel;  and  the  church  has  ever  found  it  such.  While 
there  are  those  who  dismiss  it  with  contempt  as  "  mys- 
tical, poor  stuff  *  *  *  matter  imported  from  Philo 
and  the  Alexandrian  Platonist  and  put  into  the  mouth 
of  the  Saviour"  (J.  S.  Mill),  the  verdict  of  most 
Christians  is  stated  by  Dr.  Philip  Schaff  when  he  pro- 
nounces it  "  the  most  original,  the  most  important,  and 
the  most  influential  book  in  all  literature." 


XXI 
CHURCH  MEMBEESHIP  AND  GOVERNME:NrT 

THE  two  dominant  features  of  church  life  in  the 
Apostolic  Age  were  a  constant  recognition  of 
the  presence  of  the  Holj  Spirit,  and  an  eager 
expectation  of  the  coming  of  Christ.  These  combined 
to  create  a  religious  enthusiasm,  a  consciousness  of 
divine  guidance,  and  a  subordination  of  temporal  mat- 
ters, which  account  for  the  deep  spiritual  life  and 
thought  of  the  Christians.  They  caused  also  an  indif- 
ference to  outward  forms  and  fixed  rules  and  human 
authority.  Why  look  to  men  for  guidance  and  gov- 
ernment, when  the  leadings  of  the  Spirit  can  be  di- 
rectly had?  And  why  establish  laws  and  create  insti- 
tutions for  future  generations,  when  the  Lord  even  now 
may  be  standing  at  the  door?  Accordingly,  when  we 
study  church  organization  and  government  in  the  Apos- 
tolic Age,  we  cannot  expect  to  find  authoritative  and 
final  forms.  The  desire  to  do  so  and  to  show  that  these 
forms  are  those  of  some  particular  church  to-day,  is 
natural  and  has  given  rise  to  heated  debates  or  even 
worse;  but  it  is  doomed  to  disappointment  unless  we 
deliberately  close  our  eyes  to  everything  except  what 
we  seek.  In  the  Apostolic  Age  there  was  no  one  fixed 
and  final  form  of  church  life  and  government,  but 
there  were  the  possibilities  or  beginnings  of  all  the 
later  forms.  Moreover,  in  our  study  we  must  ever  be 
on  guard  against  putting  into  a  ISTew  Testament  term 
some  present-day  meaning,  regardless  of  the  possibility 
that  in  the  course  of  centuries  the  original  meaning 
may  have  changed.     For  example,  because  a  church 

350 


CHURCH  GOVERNMENT  351 

to-day  calls  certain  officers  elders,  this  does  not  prove 
that  the  elders  in  an  apostolic  church  were  like  them 
in  position  or  in  duties. 

1.    Admission  Into  the  Church. 

The  word  in  the  New  Testament  translated  church 
is  ecclesia,  and  means  literally  a  convocation.  It  was 
the  term  for  the  political  assembly  of  Greek  citizens, 
and  was  used  in  the  Septuagint  for  the  meeting  of  the 
congregation  of  Israel.  It  was  a  favourite  word  with 
Paul.  Though  it  is  sometimes  used  in  the  plural  or 
with  a  local  signification,  there  is  but  one  church,  and 
all  everywhere  who  by  faith  are  one  with  Christ  belong 
to  it.  As  one  with  Christ  each  member  is  also  one 
with  the  Father  and  with  all  other  members.  The 
church  is  the  present  body  of  Christ,  another  and  con- 
tinuous incarnation,  and  is  the  agent  for  bringing  in 
His  Kingdom.  The  qualifications  for  church  member- 
ship originally  were  simple,  and  are  summed  up  in  the 
word,  conversion, — turning  around;  though  that  word 
is  used  but  once  in  the  New  Testament  (Acts  15:  3). 
A  converted  person  is  one  who  has  turned  around 
squarely  from  his  old  life  of  self  and  sin  to  the  new 
life  in  Christ.  The  change  involves  both  repentance 
and  faith  (Acts  20:  21)  ;  though  of  the  two,  faith  was 
emphasized  more  often,  because  it  presupposes  repent- 
ance while  repentance  does  not  surely  lead  to  faith. 
The  acceptance  of  Christ  was  at  once  followed  by  a 
request  for  admission  into  church  membership,  because 
the  convert  was  forced  to  leave  his  old  Jewish  or 
heathen  circle,  and  naturally  sought  a  place  in  the 
group  of  Christians.  The  question,  Can  a  man  follow 
Christ  and  yet  not  join  the  church  ?  would  not  arise. 

The  rite  by  which  a  person  was  received  into  church 


352  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

membersliip  was  baptism,  accompanied  by  an  open  con- 
fession of  f  aitb.  Evidently  no  large  amount  of  instruc- 
tion was  required  beforeband  (Acts  2:41;  16:33); 
thougb  as  tbe  years  went  on  it  was  increasingly  made 
a  prerequisite,  and  in  tbe  next  century  a  period  of  pro- 
bation was  required.  Baptism  followed  belief  so 
promptly  tbat  we  nowbere  find  in  tbe  'New  Testament 
an  unbaptized  believer,  but  Simon  Magus  is  an  in- 
stance of  a  baptized  unbeliever.  He  was  treated  as  not 
really  belonging  to  tbe  cburcb;  but  wbetber  be  would 
bave  been  rebaptized  bad  be  repented  and  truly  be- 
lieved, we  cannot  say.  Tbe  only  recorded  words  of 
Jesus  instituting  tbe  rite  of  baptism  are  Matt.  28 :  19 ; 
for  Mark  16:  16  was  not  of  tbe  original  gospel,  and 
sbows  tbe  development  of  tbe  later  belief  tbat  baptism 
is  indispensable  for  salvation.  But  tbe  work  of  Jobn 
tbe  Baptist  in  preparing  tbe  people  for  tbe  coming  of 
tbe  Messiab  would  naturally  be  imitated  by  tbe  apos- 
tles in  preparing  tbem  for  His  second  coming.  And 
at  first  Christian  baptism  seems  to  bave  bad  mucb  tbe 
same  significance  as  John's  baptism,  namely,  an  open 
avowal  of  faitb  in  Christ  as  Messiab,  involving  both 
repentance  of  past  sins  and  determination  henceforth 
to  live  as  His  faithful  follower  until  He  come.  Paul 
gave  a  deeper  meaning  to  the  rite  because  his  whole 
conception  of  the  Christian  life  was  deeper.  In  his 
thought  the  Christian  is  one  with  Christ  by  mystical 
union,  and  baptism  is  the  expression  of  that  union, 
especially  in  His  death  and  resurrection  (Col.  2:12; 
Rom.  6:  3-4).  This  deeper  meaning  was  not  generally 
grasped  by  the  later  church;  yet  baptism  in  the  early 
centuries  marked  such  a  complete  change  from  the 
heathen  to  the  Christian  circle  that  its  importance  and 
influence  could  hardly  be  overstated.    Dean   Stanley 


CHURCH  GOVERNMENT  353 

says,  "  Marriage  is  the  only  event  in  modem  life  whicli 
corresponds  to  what  baptism  was  in  the  ancient 
church, — a  second  birth,  a  new  creation,  old  things 
passing  away,  all  things  becoming  new." 

Concerning  the  form  of  baptism  discussion  has  been 
so  exhaustive  and  exhausting  that  to  enter  upon  it 
seems  unwise.  Unquestionably  immersion  was  the  or- 
dinary practice  (Acts  8:38;  Col.  2:12;  Rom.  6:4; 
I  Cor.  10:1-2),  and  in  the  early  centuries  it  was 
usually  triple  immersion;  but  sprinkling  or  pouring- 
may  have  been  used  when  immersion  was  not  feasible. 
The  Didache  lays  down  the  rule,  '^  If  thou  hast  not 
living  [running]  water,  baptize  in  other  water;  and  if 
thou  canst  not  in  cold  [because  of  illness],  then  in 
warm:  but  if  thou  hast  neither,  pour  water  upon  the 
head  thrice.'^  The  two  strongest  arguments  against 
immersion  as  the  only  valid  form  of  baptism  are,  first, 
the  difficulty  of  it  in  some  lands  or  circumstances: — 
as  a  universal  rite  baptism  ought  to  be  as  free  from 
hindrance  as  the  Lord's  Supper,  of  which  the  church 
never  took  over  the  Palestinian  practice  of  reclining  at 
the  table  and  a  preliminary  foot-washing.  And,  sec- 
ond, the  fact  that  Christianity  is  a  religion  of  the  spirit 
rather  than  of  the  letter,  and  one  wherein  no  bondage 
to  outward  forms  should  be  allowed  to  restrict  the 
liberty  which  we  have  in  Christ  Jesus.  Whatever  may 
be  said  about  the  obligation  to  follow  apostolic  prece- 
dent in  the  form  of  baptism,  practically  all  Protestants 
have  departed  from  it  in  ruling  that  only  ordained 
officers  of  the  church  can  administer  the  rite.  In  the 
early  spread  of  Christianity  laymen  preached  and  lay- 
men baptized.  Paul  was  baptized  by  ^^  a  certain 
disciple"  (Acts  9:10),  and  in  his  own  ministry  en- 
trusted the  work  largely  to  others  (I  Cor.  1 :  14-17)  ; 


354  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

Peter  commanded  that  Cornelius  should  be  baptized  by 
the  brethren  who  had  come  with  him  (Acts  10 :  23, 
48)  ;  and  the  Didache  in  laying  down  the  form  of  bap- 
tism, says  to  all  Christians,  ^'  Baptize  ye  thus." 

The  question  whether  infants  were  baptized  cannot 
be  settled  by  New  Testament  records,  because  the 
early  converts  were  adults,  and  what  is  said  about  bap- 
tism naturally  relates  to  them.  The  case  of  infants 
would  not  become  prominent  until  the  church  settled 
down  to  a  prolonged  career.  We  know  that  by  the 
third  century  infant  baptism  was  general,  though  Ter- 
tullian  opposed  it  and  many  thought  adult  baptism 
preferable.  Baptism  has  been  represented,  perhaps 
rightly,  as  the  Christian  successor  of  circumcision ;  but 
there  is  nothing  to  indicate  that  this  was  recognized  in 
the  Apostolic  Age.  Jewish  Christians  continued  to  ob- 
serve circumcision;  and  Gentile  believers  would  not 
feel  the  need  of  an  equivalent  for  it.  The  household 
rather  than  the  individual  was  the  normal  unit,  even 
as  we  are  once  more  discovering  that  it  should  be,  and 
whole  households  were  baptized  (Acts  16 :  15,  33 ;  I 
Cor.  1:16);  but  even  if  there  were  infants  in  these 
households,  we  cannot  be  sure  that  they  were  baptized, 
since  the  faith  of  the  parent  may  have  been  reckoned 
as  making  the  child  holy  (I  Cor.  7:  14)  and  therefore 
a  member  of  the  church  without  baptism.  Undoubt- 
edly the  later  development  of  superstitious  ideas  about 
the  magical  efficacy  of  the  rite  and  its  indispensability 
for  salvation,  would  cause  baptism  to  be  deemed  as 
necessary  for  the  infant  bom  in  the  church  as  for  the 
adult  outside  of  it;  and  we  must  also  recognize  that 
infant  baptism  was  a  factor  in  the  struggle  against  in- 
fanticide and  the  general  contempt  for  childhood  which 
filled  the  heathen  world. 


CHURCH  GOVERNMENT  355 

What  is  meant  by  baptism  for  the  dead  (I  Cor. 
15:  29),  we  cannot  discover.  Paul's  reference  to  it  is 
simply  by  way  of  argument  without  endorsement  or 
condemnation;  and  all  we  can  gather  from  his  words 
is  that  it  was  some  rite  that  would  have  no  significance 
if  there  were  no  resurrection  of  the  dead.  It  seems  to 
have  been  confined  to  Corinth  and  to  Paul's  day;  at 
leasi,  we  hear  nothing  of  it  elsewhere  or  later. 

2.     ^yliurch  Fellowship. 

While  the  unity  of  all  Christians  was  clearly  taught 
by  Paul  and  others,  the  practical  problem  was  how  to 
maintain  it.  In  the  individual  church  this  was  not 
difficult,  because  the  inevitable  isolation  of  Christians 
from  their  unconverted  neighbours  bound  them  to  one 
another,  and  the  meeting  for  worship,  which  brought 
all  the  members  of  a  church  together  frequently  in 
closest  communion,  was  an  agency  for  creating  a  sense 
of  unity,  such  as  few  heathen  cults  possessed.  There 
were  those  who  were  tempted  to  forsake  this  assembling 
of  themselves  together  (Heb.  10:25),  either  in  times 
of  persecution  when  meeting  was  dangerous,  or  in  days 
of  peace  when  apathy,  self-sufficiency  or  bitterness 
toward  a  neighbour  had  been  allowed  to  rise.  Separa- 
tion of  this  sort  was  then  as  now  the  sure  road  to  ulti- 
mate loss  of  faith;  for  this  reason  the  Didache  says, 
"  Thou  shalt  seek  out  daily  the  faces  of  the  saints  that 
thou  mayest  be  refreshed  by  their  words."  But  when 
members  of  one  church  were  closely  united,  the  prob- 
lem still  remained  as  to  how  the  widely  scattered 
churches  could  be  kept  in  touch  with  one  another,  and 
held  as  one  in  life,  doctrine  and  worship. 

The  first  years  in  Jerusalem,  when  the  whole  church 
centered  in  that  city,  and  every  member  was  close  to 


356  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

every  other,  did  much  towards  initiating  fellowship. 
We  can  hardly  overestimate  the  service  of  those  years 
in  creating  a  sense  of  unity  as  well  as  in  establishing 
a  common  creed  and  cult.  And  until  the  destruction 
of  Jerusalem  by  Rome,  Jewish  Christians  everywhere 
continued  to  look  to  the  mother  church  for  guidance 
and  example.  We  have  noticed  how  instructions  or 
advisors  were  sent  from  Jerusalem  to  churches  in 
Samaria  (Acts  8:14),  Antioch  (11:22),  and  Syria 
and  Cilicia  (15:23).  In  the  case  of  the  Gentile 
churches,  those  of  each  Roman  province  looked  to  the 
metropolitan  church  of  which  they  were  the  children 
for  advice,  sympathy  and  oversight;  and  this  kept  each 
group  united.  Ephesus  and  the  churches  of  Asia, 
Corinth  and  the  churches  of  Achaia,  are  examples  of 
this  form  of  union.  The  several  provincial  groups 
were  bound  to  one  another  in  various  ways.  Paul  held 
his  churches  together,  widely  as  they  were  scattered, 
through  frequent  letters  and  personal  visits;  and  his 
journeys  to  Jerusalem  and  gifts  to  the  poor  of  that 
church,  were  intended  to  promote  brotherly  relations 
between  the  Jewish  Christians  and  the  Gentile.  Other 
apostles  doubtless  were  doing  similar  work  towards 
unifying  the  church;  and  there  were,  as  we  shall 
presently  remark,  certain  brethren  who,  either  ap- 
pointed by  the  church  or  impelled  by  the  Spirit,  jour- 
neyed among  the  churches  preaching  and  teaching. 
More  fruitful  in  fellowship  than  any  of  these  agencies 
was  the  intercourse  of  Christian  laymen.  When  they 
travelled  on  special  errands  or  regular  business  from 
city  to  city,  they  would  take  with  them  letters  of  com- 
mendation or  introduction  from  their  own  church,  and 
in  each  stopping-place  would  seek  out  the  Christians. 
Here  in  the  home  of  some  hospitable  brother,  or  at  the 


CHURCH  GOVERNMENT  357 

gathering-place  for  worship,  they  would  report  what 
the  brethren  in  other  cities  were  doing,  compare  church 
practices,  discuss  doctrines  and  difficulties  and  dan- 
gers,— in  short,  have  a  most  profitable  exchange  of 
Christian  thought.  In  this  way  the  churches  were  kept 
intimately  acquainted  with  one  another,  and  unity  of 
faith  and  practice,  as  well  as  brotherly  feeling,  was 
strongly  though  almost  unconsciously  promoted.  A 
church  located  outside  the  great  lines  of  travel  lacked 
this  constant  source  of  sympathy  and  help,  and  suffered 
accordingly. 

3.     Church  Officers. 

The  key  to  the  whole  vexed  subject  of  church  gov- 
ernment is  this: — leadership  grows  out  of  service — ^he 
who  renders  the  greatest  service  is  the  highest  officer 
(Mark  10:42-45);  and  service  is  rendered  according 
to  gifts,  i.e.,  natural  capacities  strengthened  and  con- 
secrated by  the  Spirit  (I  Peter  4:10  f.).  Evidently 
the  field  of  service  might  be  some  particular  church 
or  the  church  universal;  but  the  division  would  be  ac- 
cording to  gifts  and  opportunity,  and  a  person  might 
pass  from  the  smaller  field  to  the  larger  or  the  reverse. 
Likewise,  he  might  have  more  than  one  gift,  and  use 
different  ones  at  different  times.  It  is  in  connection 
with  the  subject  of  spiritual  gifts  that  Paul  sets  forth 
two  lists,  illustrative  rather  than  exhaustive,  of  what 
seem  to  be  church  officials.  "  God  has  set  some  in  the 
church,  first  apostles,  secondly  prophets,  thirdly  teach- 
ers, then  miracles,  then  gifts  of  healings,  helps,  govern- 
ments, divers  kinds  of  tongues"  (I  Cor.  12:28;  of. 
Id.  9-11),  and  "He  gave  some  to  be  apostles;  and 
some,  prophets;  and  some,  evangelists;  and  some, 
pastors  and  teachers  "  (Eph.  4:  11;  cf.  Eom.  12:  6-8). 


358  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

Tlie  apostles  stand  preeminent.  They  were,  as  the 
name  signifies,  missionaries;  and  their  office  corre- 
sponded closely  to  that  of  the  foreign  missionary  of 
to-day.  In  the  narrower  sense  of  the  term  an  apostle 
was  one  who  had  been  appointed  by  Jesus  directly,  and 
had  been  prepared  for  his  work  by  being  with  Him 
during  His  public  ministry  and  by  having  seen  Him 
after  His  resurrection  (Mark  3:14;  Acts  1:21  f . ; 
I  Cor.  9:1).  The  number  would  be  limited  to  the 
Twelve,  among  whom  Matthias  took  the  place  of  Judas, 
and  Paul;  though  since  Paul  had  not  received  the  full 
preparation  he  reckoned  himself  as  "  one  untimely 
born."  In  the  broader  sense  of  the  word  an  apostle 
was  anyone  whose  special  gift  was  the  ability  to  labour 
at  planting  the  church  in  new  fields,  and  to  act  as  an 
ambassador  for  Christ,  i.e.,  His  representative  in  a 
foreign  land.  He  might  be  sent  forth  by  some  church ; 
in  which  case  he  would  be  given  a  special  appointment 
and  be  reckoned  an  apostle  only  while  he  was  under 
that  appointment,  perhaps  holding  another  ofiice  at 
another  time ;  or  he  might  go  forth  independently.  The 
ceremony  of  laying  on  of  hands  which  accompanied  his 
appointment  is  thought  by  some  to  have  imparted  apos- 
tolic powers,  e.g.,  to  w^ork  miracles  (II  Cor.  12:12), 
and  by  others  to  have  been  either  an  act  of  ordination 
or  benediction.  The  need  of  missionary  work  was 
great,  and  many  a  believer  must  have  given  himself  to 
it  as  his  life  mission.  Barnabas  (Acts  14:14),  An- 
dronicus  and  Junias  (Eom.  16:  7),  Silvanus  and  Tim- 
othy (I  Thess.  2 :  6),  Apollos  (I  Cor.  4:9)  and  Epaph- 
roditus  (Phil.  2:25)  are  termed  apostles;  and  the 
Didache  speaks  as  if  the  number  at  the  close  of  the 
century  was  large. 

The  apostles  were  pioneers,  and  their  authority  was 


CHURCH  GOVERNMENT  359 

much  like  that  of  a  pioneer  missionary  to-day.  Some 
exercised  great  influence;  others,  even  of  the  original 
Twelve,  probably  very  little;  much  would  depend  on 
the  degree  of  their  qualifications  for  the  work.  Neces- 
sarily they  had  to  organize  churches,  appoint  office- 
bearers and  act  autocratically  in  many  ways;  yet  it 
was  expedient  to  persuade  rather  than  dictate,  and  to 
entrust  to  a  newly  formed  church  all  the  power  it  could 
wisely  use.  Some  scholars,  dwelling  on  certain  state- 
ments in  Acts  and  Paul's  letters,  insist  that  the  apostles 
directed  all  church  affairs;  others,  dwelling  on  other 
statements  in  the  same  documents,  declare  that  the 
apostles  had  nothing  to  do  directly  with  government, 
leaving  it  to  the  individual  church.  ^^  Six  months  spent 
in  watching  a  missionary  at  work  would  have  taught 
them  how  to  combine  their  views"  (Lindsay). 

A  prophet  was  one  whose  mission  was  to  speak  for 
God,  giving  to  his  fellow-Christians  messages  of  edifi- 
cation and  exhortation  and  comfort  (I  Cor.  14:3). 
His  particular  gift  of  the  Spirit — inspiration — was 
the  ability  to  receive  and  proclaim  dynamic  truths. 
He  might  foretell  the  future,  yet  he  would  do  this,  not 
to  satisfy  idle  curiosity,  but  to  build  up,  stir  up  or 
cheer  up  the  church.  The  gift  of  prophecy  was  pos- 
sessed by  many  a  man  who  used  it  only  in  his  own 
local  church,  and  also  by  those  who  went  forth  as  apos- 
tles. Paul  and  Barnabas  were  ranked  as  prophets  or 
teachers  in  the  church  at  Antioch  before  their  first 
missionary  journey  (Acts  13:1).  But  as  a  special 
and  universal  officer  the  prophet  travelled  from  church 
to  church,  rousing  his  brethren  to  higher  spiritual 
living  by  glowing  words  which  came  hot  from  his 
heart.  Agabus,  of  whom  we  hear  at  Jerusalem  and 
Antioch  and  Caesarea,   is  an  example.     The  Didache 


360  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

has  mucli  to  saj  about  those  who  come  "  speaking  in 
the  Spirit." 

A  teacher  had  as  his  gift  the  ability  to  instruct  his 
brethren  in  Christian  truth.  The  opportunity  to 
learn  and  the  power  to  impart  constituted  his  call  to 
this  important  office.  He  might  not  be  able  to  estab- 
lish new  churches,  or  to  preach  with  compelling  power; 
but  he  could  patiently  and  clearly  expound  the  teach- 
ings of  Jesus  and  the  Christian  doctrines.  And  there 
was  great  need  of  such  teaching  among  men  who  had 
been  received  into  the  church  with  little  instruction 
and  no  previous  acquaintance  with  Christianity.  Like 
the  prophet  he  might  exercise  his  gift  in  his  own 
church,  or  go  forth  among  the  churches.  Doubtless 
at  first  the  oral  gospel  would  be  the  basis  of  his  in- 
struction, and  later  he  might  bear  with  him  some  writ- 
ten gospel,  or  any  writings  of  the  apostles  which  he 
had  been  fortunate  enough  to  secure.  Whether  we 
should  place  ^'  the  evangelist "  in  this  group  or  in  that 
of  apostles  of  the  second  class,  is  an  unimportant  ques- 
tion. Though  the  office  is  recognized  by  Paul  as  a 
distinct  one,  Philip  is  the  only  person  named  in  the 
'New  Testament  as  holding  it  (Acts  21:  8),  except  as 
Timothy  is  exhorted  to  "do  the  work  of  an  evangel- 
ist" (II  Tim.  4:5);  and  in  the  post-apostolic  age  it 
is  not  mentioned.  An  evang-elist  is  one  who  tells  the 
good  tidings,  the  gospel  of  Christ;  and  all  who  went 
forth  bearing  the  words  of  eternal  life  to  those  who 
had  not  heard  them,  were  evangelists  (Acts  8:4). 

Although  these  officers  were  sent  out  by  the 
churches,  and  carried  letters  of  commendation,  they 
were  under  no  supervision  as  they  laboured,  and  there 
was  nothing  to  prevent  incompetent  or  base-minded 
men  from  joining  their  number,  either  with  forged  let- 


CHURCH  GOVERNMENT  3()1 

ters  or  with  none  at  all.  ^'  It  was  the  age  of  wander- 
ing preachers  and  teachers,  of  religious  excitements, 
of  curiosity  about  new  faiths,  when  all  who  had  some- 
thing new  to  teach  hawked  their  theories  as  traders 
dragged  and  exposed  their  merchandise.''  The  inex- 
perience and  interest  and  hospitality  of  the  young 
Christian  churches  offered  a  fertile  field  for  such  men; 
and  we  are  not  surprised  to  read  of  false  apostles, 
prophets  and  teachers  (II  Cor.  11:13;  Gal.  1:7; 
II  Peter  2:1).  The  harm  these  men  might  work  is 
evident,  and  is  dwelt  upon  strongly  in  the  Epistle  of 
Jude.  The  safeguard  against  it  was  the  ability  and 
duty  of  each  church  to  test  all  who  came,  and  to  deter- 
mine whether  their  messages  were  of  God  or  not 
(I  John  4:1;  Rev.  2:  2;  I  Cor.  10: 15).  There  was 
a  gift  of  ^'' discernings  of  spirits"  (I  Cor.  12:10), 
which  its  possessor  could  use  to  guard  his  church 
against  imposters.  In  its  purely  spiritual  form  this 
gift  was  sensitiveness  to  the  truth  that  is  in  Christ 
Jesus  whereby  the  brethren  could  detect  whether  one 
who  came  in  His  name  really  represented  Him  or  not 
(I  Cor.  12:3;  I  John  4:1-6);  but  when  the  church 
began  to  sink  to  a  lower  level  of  spiritual  life,  it 
trusted  more  in  its  ability  to  discover  by  outward  signs 
whether  the  stranger  was  working  for  the  food  that 
perisheth  or  for  that  which  abideth  unto  eternal  life. 
The  tests  laid  down  in  the  Didache  are  of  this  later 
sort,  e.g.,  ''  Not  every  one  that  speaketh  in  the  spirit 
is  a  prophet,  but  only  if  he  have  the  ways  of  the  Lord. 
*  *  *  whoever  in  the  spirit  saith.  Give  me  money 
or  something  else,  ye  shall  not  hear  him." 

Thus  far  we  have  considered  only  the  work  of 
spreading  the  gospel  and  building  up  the  church  in  the 
faith.     But  how  about  the  administration  of  the  affairs 


362  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

of  the  local  cliurcli?  Who  were  the  officers  to  whom 
this  was  entrusted?  Here  Paul's  list  gives  us  little 
aid,  though  '^  helps  and  governments  "  are  gifts  out  of 
the  use  of  which  offices  may  arise.  In  the  beginning 
the  only  person  outside  its  own  membership  to  whom 
a  church  can  look  for  counsel  and  direction,  is  the 
apostle  who  founded  it;  and  though  he  retains  his 
fatherly  interest  in  it,  he  is  seldom  where  he  can  be 
consulted.  Eeally  there  is  very  little  need  at  first  of 
any  officers.  Any  member  can  baptize  or,  if  he  has  the 
gift,  can  teach  and  preach;  there  is  no  church  build- 
ing; the  gatherings  for  worship  are  most  informal; 
discipline,  as  we  shall  see,  is  administered  by  the  whole 
little  group  of  believers ;  there  are  no  funds  to  be  cared 
for.  Organization  comes  later,  as  the  church  develops ; 
and  it  arises  out  of  special  needs.  And  in  forming  it, 
the  pattern  is  naturally  some  organization  with  which 
the  believers  are  already  familiar, — the  synagogue  for 
Jewish-Christians,  the  club  of  some  sort  for  Gentile 
converts.  Bearing  in  mind  that  church  government  is 
a  gradual  development  based  on  need,  shaped  some^ 
what  by  environment,  and  with  dignity  of  service  ac- 
cording to  special  gifts,  we  can  conjecture  its  probable 
rise,  though  no  exact  dates  can  be  assigned  because 
some  churches  would  progress  much  faster  than  others. 
1.  The  infant  church  has  no  officers;  it  is  a  little 
brotherhood  with  all  members  equal.  Any  matter 
affecting  it  is  talked  over  and  arranged  at  its  frequent 
meetings.  Of  course,  if  the  missionary  (apostle)  is 
present  or  can  be  consulted,  he  may  exercise  supreme 
authority;  and  yet,  if  he  is  a  wise  father,  he  will  do 
this  as  little  as  possible.  There  is  no  definite  organiza- 
tion, partly  because  the  group  is  so  small  that  it  is  not 
needed  and  partly  because  the  expectation  of  Christ's 


CHURCH  GOVERNMENT  363 

speedy  coming  makes  organization  seem  absurd.  Yet, 
since  every  member  uses  tbe  gifts  he  possesses — 
"healings,  helps,  governments"  (I  Cor.  12:28),  and 
the  like, — there  will  be  certain  persons  whose  ability 
makes  them  leaders,  active  and  wise  in  caring  for  all 
the  interests  of  the  church.  And  the  apostle  will 
naturally  commend  such  to  the  confidence  and  follow- 
ing of  the  rest.  This  seems  to  be  what  Paul  was 
doing  when  he  wrote  the  Thessalonians  (as  Frame 
translates  it), — '^  Furthermore,  we  ask  you,  brothers, 
to  appreciate  those  who  labour  among  you,  both  acting 
as  your  leaders  in  the  Lord  and  warning  you;  and  to 
rate  them  very  highly  in  love  for  the  sake  of  their 
work"  (I  Thess.  5:12-13), — an  exhortation  called 
forth  by  the  presence  of  dissensions,  as  the  command 
which  immediately  follows,  "  Be  at  peace  among  your- 
selves," reveals.  The  statement  that  Paul  and  Barna- 
bas as  they  revisited  the  churches  on  their  way  home- 
ward from  the  first  missionary  journey,  "  appointed 
for  them  elders  in  every  church"  (Acts  14:23),  can 
hardly  mean  more  than  this,  unless  those  Galatian 
churches  had  advanced  remarkably  fast  in  organ- 
ization. 

2.  The  burden  that  would  first  be  felt  most  press- 
ingly  and  perplexingly  by  any  church  was  the  care  of 
its  poor.  Not  only  was  the  proportion  of  dependent 
members  often  so  large  as  to  tax  the  resources  of  the 
rest;  but  there  was  also  constant  danger  that  the 
charity  of  the  little  church  would  be  abused  by  un- 
worthy claimants.  Constant  foresight  and  careful  dis- 
crimination were  needed  in  the  matter.  Accordingly, 
the  first  recorded  step  in  church  organization  is  the 
selection  of  seven  men  by  the  church  at  Jerusalem,  fol- 
lowing the  advice  of  the  apostles,  to  look  after  the  poor 


364  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

widows.  The  qualifications  for  this  office  are  carefully 
laid  down, — "  men  of  good  report,  full  of  the  Spirit 
and  of  wisdom"  (Acts  6;  3);  and  the  apostles  induct 
the  Seven  into  office  with  prayer  and  the  Jewish  rite 
of  laying  on  of  hands.  Two  of  these  men,  Stephen 
and  Philip,  we  know  to  have  been  of  marked  ability; 
and  doubtless  the  others  were  the  same.  Though  this 
order  of  the  Seven  soon  was  ended  by  the  scattering 
of  the  church,  that  which  was  done  at  Jerusalem  would 
be  done  elsewhere  as  need  arose.  The  leading  men  in 
a  church,  those  who  were  older  in  years  or  Christian 
experience,  would  be  selected  and  set  apart  for  the 
difficult  work  of  caring  for  the  poor  and,  naturally,  for 
any  other  matters  that  arose.  The  term  elder,  again 
with  Jewish  precedent,  would  be  applied  to  them, 
partly  as  a  title  and  partly  as  describing  their  age 
(See  I  Peter  5:1-2,  5;  I  Tim.  5:1-2,  17).  They 
might  be  selected  by  the  apostle,  if  present,  but  more 
often  by  the  church  itself.  We  notice  that  when  Paul 
and  Barnabas  brought  aid  from  Antioch  for  the 
famine-stricken  church  at  Jerusalem,  it  was  given  to 
"  the  elders  "  (Acts  11 :  30),  a  body  that  seems  to  have 
then  taken  the  place  of  the  Seven. 

3.  As  church  life  grew  more  complex,  a  further 
division  of  duties  became  necessary.  Some  of  these 
elders  would  still  continue  to  look  after  the  poor,  and 
in  this  service  would  be  definitely  recognized  as  dea- 
cons; while  others  would  devote  themselves  to  gov- 
ernment of  the  church  as  its  overseers, — episkopoi, 
bishops  (Phil.  1:1).  All  would  still  continue  to  be 
elders,  but  they  would  be  set  apart  by  ordination  to 
these  special  offices.  The  ordination  would  be  deemed 
a  recognition  of  gifts  already  bestowed  by  the  Holy 


CHURCH  GOVERNMENT  365 

Spirit  (Acts  20:  28,  cf.  13:2)  rather  than  an  iraparta- 
tion  of  new  gifts. 

4.  Still  later,  and  probably  not  until  the  close  of 
the  Apostolic  Age,  a  further  specialization  of  work 
would  arise.  The  several  churches  in  a  city,  or  the 
city  church  and  those  that  had  been  founded  by  it  in 
the  vicinity,  would  need  general  supervision.  And 
some  one  of  the  overseeing  elders  possessing  pre- 
eminent ability  and  experience  would  be  appointed  to 
that  office  (III  John,  1,  9  f.) .  Inevitably  in  any  body  of 
administrators  such  a  leader  arises,  whether  recognized 
officially  or  not.  The  usefulness  of  such  an  arrange- 
ment would  justify  its  existence  and  cause  its  exten- 
sion. And  in  the  second  century  we  meet  everywhere 
the  "  monarchical  episcopate." 

Thus  we  find  in  the  church  at  various  stages  of  its 
development  the  forerunners  of  the  great  forms  of 
church  polity  adopted  by  various  denominations  to-day. 
To  pronounce  any  one  of  them  the  final  and  divinely 
appointed  form  is  more  than  we  have  a  right  to  do. 
Different  conditions  call  for  correspondingly  different 
forms  of  organization  and  government;  and  that  which 
under  the  circumstances  most  fully  promotes  the  har- 
mony and  growth  of  the  church,  bears  in  this  very  fact 
the  stamp  of  divine  approval. 

4.     Church  Discipline. 

The  problem  of  dealing  with  unworthy  members  was 
forced  upon  the  church  from  its  beginning,  as  we  have 
seen  in  the  case  of  Ananias  and  Sapphira  and  of 
Simon  Magus.  Many  of  the  members  had  previously 
held  very  low  moral  standards  (I  Cor.  6:9-11),  and 
had  been  received  with  little  instruction.  ISTaturally 
their  lives  were  not  always  such  as  to  avoid  censure 


366  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

and  correction.  "Let  him  that  stole  steal  no  more" 
(Eph.  4:28)  seems  a  strange  injunction  to  give  a 
church  member,  but,  alas!  it  was  sometimes  needed. 
One  of  Paul's  most  lasting  works  was  the  ethical  teach- 
ing he  constantly  promulgated. 

Theoretically  the  discipline  was  administered  by  the 
whole  church,  and  was  considered  to  be  by  the  Great 
Head  of  the  church,  unseen  but  actually  in  their  midst 
(Matt.  18:  20).  This  could  be  carried  out  practically 
when  the  church  was  small  in  numbers  and  intimately 
acquainted  with  each  member  (II  Cor.  2:6);  but 
more  often  discipline  was  administered  by  apostles, 
prophets,  elders  and  others  who  would  best  know  the 
mind  of  Christ  (I  Cor.  4:21;  5:3  f.;  I  Tim.  3:4). 
The  forms  of  discipline  were  based  upon  Christ's  in- 
struction (Matt.  18:15-20).  There  would  be  private 
admonition  (Gal.  6:1),  public  correction  (I  Tim. 
5:20)  and  excommunication  (I  Cor.  5:5)  with  the 
possibility  of  restoration  after  due  penitence  and 
amendment  (II  Cor.  2:7). 


XXII 
OHRISTIA]^  WORSHIP 

THOUGH  the  little  band  of  Christians  in  any 
heathen  city  delighted  to  meet  together  and 
join  in  worship  of  their  common  Lord,  the  op- 
portunities to  do  so  were  limited.  Poverty  kept  many 
at  hard  toil  through  long  hours,  and  slavery  forbade 
others  from  counting  any  hour  their  own.  There  was 
no  special  time  or  place  that  could  be  reckoned  gacred ; 
the  church  must  meet  when  and  where  it  could,  usually 
in  the  late  evening  or  early  morning,  and  at  the  house 
of  any  member  who  had  a  room  large  enough.  In  the 
meetings  for  worship  all  took  part  as  desire  prompted 
and  spiritual  gifts  enabled;  there  was  neither  a  fixed 
order  of  service  nor  a  recognized  leader.  Evidently  the 
same  causes  that  kept  church  government  undeveloped, 
operated  to  make  church  worship  most  informal.  Light- 
foot  declares  the  Christian  ideal  to  be  "  a  holy  season 
extending  the  whole  year  round,  a  temple  confined  only 
by  the  limits  of  the  habitable  globe,  a  priesthood  coex- 
tensive with  the  human  race."  And  this  ideal  may  be 
said  to  have  shaped  Christian  worship  in  the  Apostolic 
Age  more  fully  than  it  ever  has  since. 

1.     Sacred  Days. 

In  the  weeks  immediately  following  Pentecost  the 
new  converts  met  daily  for  worship  and  the  communion 
meal  (Acts  2:46).  Filled  with  enthusiasm  they  gave 
themselves  entirely  to  the  work  of  proclaiming  Jesus  as 

367 


368  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

Messiali,  and  they  counted  all  days  as  holy  through  His 
presence.  Since  they  still  were  holding  strictly  to  Jew- 
ish practices,  they  would  keep  the  Jewish  Sabhath  as 
hitherto,  though  with  something  of  the  new  spirit  con- 
cerning it  which  the  apostles  had  gained  from  Jesus. 
The  first  day  of  the  week  also  would  be  a  day  of  sacred 
sigTiificance  to  them,  because  on  that  day  their  Lord 
rose  from  the  dead.  It  came  presently  to  be  known  as 
^^the  Lord's  Day''  (Kev.  1:10).  As  time  went  on 
and  the  church  in  Jerusalem  settled  down  to  a  more 
regular  life,  meetings  for  worship  became  less  frequent 
because  daily  tasks  and  duties  must  be  performed.  The 
Jewish  observance  of  Saturday  would  make  that  day 
preeminently  the  time  for  worship,  even  after  the  doors 
of  the  synagogue  were  closed  against  Christians;  but 
Sunday  would  be  in  a  special  sense  the  Christian  day. 
When  Christianity  went  out  into  Gentile  lands  it  bore 
these  two  days  with  it,  and  in  the  Eastern  church  they 
were  long  observed  with  nearly  equal  honour.  For 
Gentile  believers,  however,  the  Jewish  Sabbath  was  less 
significant  than  the  Lord's  Day,  and  in  the  battle 
against  Judaizers  its  observance  was  decried  (Col. 
2 :  16) ;  so  we  find  the  first  day  of  the  week  selected  as 
the  time  for  Christian  assemblies  (I  Cor.  16:2;  Acts 
20:7).  I^evertheless,  the  constant  teaching  of  Paul 
was  that  all  days  alike  are  holy,  and  that  to  esteem  one 
more  sacred  than  another  is  contrary  to  Christian  lib- 
erty (Eom.  14:  5;  Gal.  4:  10;  CoL  2: 16).  It  marks  a 
decline  in  the  high  religious  level  when  the  church 
began  to  teach  that  one  day  in  seven,  instead  of  all 
days,  belongs  to  the  Lord,  and  that  certain  occupations 
are  secular  and  certain  others  sacred. 

Eriday  was  a  day  of  sacred  and  sad  associations  be- 
cause on  this  day  Jesus  was  crucified.      As  early  as 


CHRISTIAN  WORSHIP  3G9 

the  second  century,  and  possibly  still  earlier,  the  custom 
arose  of  observing  it  with  fastings  and  prayer ;  and  from 
its  semi-sacred  character  the  Christians  felt  that  no  new 
enterprise  should  be  begun  on  that  day;  work  already 
in  hand  could  be  carried  on,  but  other  work  would  not 
receive  the  blessing  of  God — a  feeling  surviving  in  tho 
present-day  superstition  against  entering  upon  a  jour- 
ney or  the  like  on  Friday.  Wednesday,  when  Judas 
bargained  to  betray  Jesus,  was  also  a  day  for  fasting. 
These  two  days  later  were  called  ''  station  days,"  a  name 
applied  to  the  Roman  soldier's  days  of  sentry  duty. 
There  is  no  indication  in  the  ISTew  Testament  that  any 
annual  Christian  festival  was  observed;  but  Good  Fri- 
day, Easter  and  Whitsunday  would  presently  arise  from 
the  blending  of  Christian  association  with  Jewish  fes- 
tivals. In  the  second  century  there  was  heated  discus- 
sion over  the  proper  date  for  observing  Easter.  Christ- 
mas did  not  begin  to  be  celebrated  until  the  fourth  cen- 
tury. 

2.     Sacred  Places. 

The  temple  and  the  synagogues  remained  dear  to 
Jewish  Christians,  and  they  attended  the  services  in 
them;  but  from  the  first  they  gathered  in  their  own 
houses  for  distinctly  Christian  worship  and  the  cele- 
bration of  the  Lord's  Supper  (Acts  1:13;  2:1,  46; 
4:  31 ;  12 :  12  et  al.).  Gentile  believers — and  also  Jew- 
ish, when  the  synagogue  was  closed  against  them — ^had 
only  the  house  as  a  meeting-place.  Any  member  of  the,, 
little  church  whose  rooms  were  suited  for  the  gathering  ^ 
would  place  them  at  the  use  of  his  brethren;  and  the 
group  who  met  there  would  be  known  as  "  the  church  in 
the  house  "  of  that  brother  (Rom.  16 :  5 ;  I  Cor.  16  :  19 ; 
Col.  4:  15).     The  home  of  Mark  in  Jerusalem  is  a  no 


370  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

table  illustration  of  this  (Acts  12:  12).  We  have  seen 
that  in  Ephesus  Paul  secured  for  Christian  work  and 
worship  the  lecture-room  of  Tyrannus  (Acts  19:9); 
and  possibly  James  when  speaking  of  "  your  syna- 
gogue "  may  refer  to  the  place  for  worship  rather  than 
to  the  assembly  (James  2:2);  but  such  public  places 
would  seldom  be  available,  and  in  times  of  persecution 
would  be  most  undesirable.  A  church  in  the  modem 
sense  of  a  building  devoted  exclusively  to  Christian  as- 
semblies, is  not  mentioned  before  the  third  century. 

3.     The  Public  Religious  Service. 

This  was  intended  primarily  for  believers  but  was 
open  to  the  unconverted,  even  as  the  synagogue  service 
was  intended  for  Jews  but  was  open  to  Gentiles  (I  Cor. 
14:  23).  It  was  more  like  our  modern  prayer-meeting 
than  like  our  church  service: — the  Christians  in  the 
neighbourhood  gathered  in  some  private  home ;  we  hear 
of  no  official  leader ;  and  each  person  took  part  accord- 
ing to  his  gifts  (14:26).  The  chief  end  of  the  meet- 
ing was  edification  (14:  12)  and  not  divine  service  in 
the  sense  of  a  formal,  obligatory  meeting  for  worship. 
The  temple  continued  to  be  the  place  for  such  service, 
at  least  in  the  thought  of  the  Jewish  Christians. 

There  was  no  fixed  order  of  exercises  at  these  meet- 
ings; each  member  took  paii;  as  the  spirit  prompted; 
more  than  one  might  be  taking  part  at  the  same  time; 
and  eagerness  sometimes  gave  rise  to  disorder 
(14:26  f.).  A  gathering  might  be  devoted  wholly  to 
prayer  (Acts  12:  5,  12),  but  generally  there  were  sev- 
eral or  all  of  the  following  exercises : 

(a)  Prayers.  The  meeting  seems  to  have  begun 
with  a  series  of  prayers.  These  were  offered  by  differ- 
ent persons  as  the  Spirit  moved,  but  were  considered  to 


CHRISTIAN  WORSHIP  371 

be  bj  all  (I  Cor.  14: 16).  Xo  special  forms  of  prayer 
are  enjoined,  nor  is  there  any  mention  of  tbe  Lord's 
Prayer,  though  some  think  that  Rom.  8 :  15  and  Gal. 
4 :  6  refer  to  it,  because  the  original  Aramaic  "  Abba  " 
is  retained.  But  the  ^ereotyped  forms  of  salutation 
and  benediction  which  appear  in  the  epistles,  and  the 
injunction  to  establish  definite  kinds  of  prayer  (I  Tim, 
2;  1  f.),  hint  of  the  beginnings  of  a  liturgy;  and  the 
liturgical  service  of  the  Jewish  synagogue  would  furnish 
a  pattern.  In  the  Didache  we  have  set  forms  of  prayer, 
and  the  direction  that  each  Christian  repeat  the  Lord's 
Prayer  three  times  daily. 

(h)  Singing.  This  was  a  regular  part  of  the  syna- 
gogue worship,  and  was  taken  over  into  Christian  wor- 
ship (Eph.  5:19;  Col.  3:16).  The  songs  might  be 
either  Old  Testament  psalms  or  Christian  hymns ;  pos- 
sibly we  have  fragments  of  these  early  hymns  in  such 
passages  as  Eph.  5: 14  and  I  Tim.  3:16.  The  music 
wag  little  more  than  intoning,  so  that  there  was  no  great 
difference  between  prayer  and  song  (cf .  Eph.  5 :  19-20 ; 
I  Cor.  14:15);  indeed,  Weizsacker  thinks  that 
"  psalm  "  in  I  Cor.  14:  26  means  a  prayer  of  praise. 

(c)  Public  Reading.  The  Bible  of  the  early  church 
was  the  Old  Testament,  inherited  from  the  Jews  and 
opened  to  the  Gentiles  by  its  Greek  version,  the  Septua- 
gint.  It  was  the  sacred  text-book  of  life  and  doctrine; 
and  its  authority  was  recognized  as  the  same  as  that 
of  the  Spirit  dwelling  in  each  believer.  When  the  two 
geemed  to  disagree,  the  allegorical  method  of  interpret- 
ing the  Scriptures  was  used  to  produce  harmony.  Since 
the  Old  Testament  was  publicly  read  in  the  synagogue, 
we  may  be  sure  that  it  would  be  in  the  Christian  meet- 
ings, though  there  is  no  clear  indication  of  this  (cf.  I 
Tim.  4:13).      The  writings  of  the  apostles  were  also 


372  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

publicly  read  (I  Tliess.  5 :  27 ;  Col.  4 :  16 ;  Kev.  1 :  3)  as 
profitable  and  of  tbe  same  authority  as  the  words  of 
the  author  if  he  had  been  present,  and  accounts  of 
Jesus  would  be  read  or  still  earlier  recited ;  but  none  of 
these  would  be  deemed  sacred  like  the  Old  Testament. 

(d)  Teaching.  Those  peculiarly  fitted  by  the  Spirit 
for  this  work  constituted,  as  we  have  seen,  a  special 
order  in  the  church  at  large  (I  Cor.  12:  28)  ;  but  cer- 
tain persons  in  each  church  might  act  as  teachers  (Id. 
14:26).  Systematic  instruction  in  the  doctrines  was 
much  needed,  and  could  be  given  only  by  the  thoughtful 
and  educated.  Paul  (I  Cor.  12:8)  recognizes  two  dif- 
ferent gifts  that  fit  for  teaching,  namely,  the  word  of 
wisdom,  probably  reflective  thought,  and  the  word  of 
knowledge,  probably  intuition.  The  passage,  I  Tim. 
5:17,  referring  to  certain  elders  "  who  labour  in  the 
word  and  in  teaching,''  is  used  now  to  establish  the 
Presbyterian  distinction  between  ruling  elders  and  min- 
isters. 

(e)  Prophecy.  This  formed  a  very  important  part 
of  the  service.  It  was,  as  we  have  seen,  the  utterance 
of  a  message  held  to  be  directly  inspired,  whether  re- 
ceived at  the  moment  of  utterance  or  earlier.  The  mes- 
sage might  be  about  the  present  or  the  future:  but  it 
must  tend  to  "  edification,  exhortation,  and  consolation  '^ 
(I  Cor.  14:3).  Anyone  could  utter  a  prophecy,  but 
evidently  the  truth  of  what  he  said  must  be  tested  by 
the  spiritual  discrimination  of  the  church.  Prophecy 
was  a  much  more  general  gift  than  teaching,  and  was 
specially  to  be  desired  (I  Cor.  14: 1,  5,  39).  The  help- 
fulness to  all  of  a  frank  statement  of  real  spiritual  ex- 
perience by  any,  explains  why. 

(/)  Speaking  with  Tongues  or  in  a  Tongue.  This 
was  the  exercise  of  a  special  and  showy  gift  which  pres- 


CHRISTIAN  WORSHIP  373 

ently  ceased,  partly  through  the  strong  check  placed  by 
Paul  upon  its  use,  and  partly  through  the  decline  of 
religious  enthu^asm.  About  all  we  know  of  it  is  gained 
from  Paul's  description  (I  Cor.  14;  1-33)  and  from 
religious  psychology.  It  occurred  in  prayer  or  was  a 
kind  of  prayer  (14:2,  14),  and  to  the  unbelieving  it 
seemed  like  the  utterance  of  an  insane  person  (14 :  23). 
There  were  divers  kinds  of  tongues  (12 :  10)  ;  and  what 
was  said  was  unintelligible  (14:2),  unless  either  the 
speaker  or  some  other  person  could  interpret 
(14:13,  28), — there  being,  also,  a  gift  of  interpreta- 
tion of  tongues  (12:10;  14:26).  The  tongues  are  best 
explained  as  ejaculations  in  one's  native  language  or  in 
foreign  languages  subconsciously  possessed,  or  else  as 
mere  broken  outcries.  The  speaker  who  uttered  them 
might  afterwards  state  what  passed  through  his  mind, 
or  some  sympathetic  brother  might  be  able  to  follow 
the  windings  of  thought  thus  obscurely  expressed,  and 
reveal  them  to  the  rest. 

(g)  Other  features  of  the  meeting  are  less  certain. 
There  may  have  been  giving  of  alms, — there  was  in  the 
synagogue, — since  there  was  constant  need  of  contribu- 
tions to  the  poor;  but,  though  Paul  directs  the  Corin- 
thians to  lay  aside  an  offering  for  the  poor  in  Jerusalem 
each  week,  he  does  not  say  that  this  should  be  brought 
to  the  public  meeting  (I  Cor.  16  :  2).  Something  in  the 
form  of  a  creed  may  have  been  recited,  even  as  the 
Shema  was  in  the  synagogue;  but  we  do  not  know  its 
form, — the  so-called  Apostles'  Creed  was  a  gradual 
growth  in  later  days.  And  the  meeting  may  have 
closed  with  a  benediction  and  a  "  kiss  of  peace." 

Concerning  the  public  meeting  Lindsay  says,  "For- 
eign as  it  may  seem  to  us,  the  like  can  still  be  seen  in  mis- 
sion fields  among  the  hot-blooded  people  of  the  East.    I 


374  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

have  witnessed  everything  but  the  speaking  with  tongues 
in  meetings  of  native  Christians  in  the  Deccan  in  India, 
when  European  influence  was  not  present  to  restrain 
Eastern  enthusiasm  and  condense  it  in  Western  molds." 

4.     Women  and  Public  Worship. 

While  the  great  fact,  ^^  Ye  are  all  one  in  Christ 
Jesus  "  did  away  Avith  the  old  separations  of  race  and 
class  and  even  sex  (Gal.  3 :  28),  the  church  very  wisely 
did  not  undertake  to  abolish  ail  established  distinctions ; 
to  do  so  would  have  been  to  create  confusion  and  dis- 
aster. The  rule  was  laid  down,  ^'  Let  each  man  abide 
in  the  calling  wherein  he  was  called  "  (I  Cor.  1 :  20)  ; 
and  the  gradual  operation  of  Christian  principles  was 
trusted  to  work  any  desirable  changes.  We  have  seen 
this  illustrated  in  the  case  of  the  slaves ;  it  held  likewise 
in  the  case  of  the  women.  There  was  no  question  as  to 
woman's  spiritual  equality  with  man,  or  her  right  to 
be  his  fellow-worker  in  Christ  Je^is.  The  list  of  noble 
Christian  women  who  laboured  much  with  Paul  in  the 
gospel  is  a  long  one;  to  give  it  in  detail  would  be  almost 
to  repeat  the  story  of  Christian  origins,  l^evertheless, 
in  that  age,  as  unfortunately  in  most  of  those  that  have 
followed,  women  had  very  scanty  opportunities  to  gain 
an  education,  and  consequently  were  not  intellectually 
the  equals  of  men.  Moreover,  they  were  bound  by 
social  restrictions  that  prevented  them  from  mingling 
freely  with  men  under  penalty  of  being  misjudged 
ethically.  This  was  not  equally  so  in  all  lands.  In 
Palestine  and  also  in  certain  parts  of  Asia  Minor  women 
had  much  freedom  and  exerted  much  influence  in  public 
matters;  but  in  Greece  they  were  largely  restricted  to 
the  home,  and  only  women  of  questionable  character  ap- 
peared in  public  assemblies.   This  diversity  of  condition 


CHRISTIAN  WORSHIP  375 

may  explain  in  part  the  seemingly  contradictory  injunc- 
tions concerning  woman's  share  in  the  public  meetings. 
Women  freely  attended  the  meetings  for  Christian 
worship,  and  there  is  no  indication  that  they  were 
separated  by  a  screen  from  the  men,  as  they  were  in  a 
Jewish  synagogue.  Of  course,  these  meetings  were  held 
in  private  houses  where  special  arrangements  for  seclud- 
ing the  women  worshippers  were  lacking.  Very  prob- 
ably^ however,  the  women  sat  together  in  one  part  of  the 
room.  Spiritual  gifts  were  bestowed  upon  them  as  Vvell 
as  upon  men  (Acts  2:4,  17-18 ;  21 :  9)  ;  and  since  they 
possessed  these  gifts,  they  could  use  them,  certainly  in 
prayer  and  prophesy,  at  public  meetings,  provided  (at 
least,  in  Corinth)  they  did  not  discard  the  head-cover- 
ing which  every  modest  Greek  woman  wore  in  public 
(I  Cor.  11:5).  The  uncovering  of  the  head  in  public 
is  condemned  on  the  ground,  not  of  immodesty  but  of 
insubordination ;  it  expressed  the  claim  "  to  have  do- 
minion over  man"  (I  Tim.  2:12),  and  this  Paul 
stoutly  denounces.  Whatever  be  said  about  his  rea- 
sons for  denying  the  social  equality  of  the  sexes — and 
certainly  he  does  confuse  us  as  he  gives  them — ^the 
danger  of  throwing  off  long-established  restraints  and 
claiming  liberties  when  almost  unprepared  to  use  them, 
is  evident.  It  has  been  illustrated  more  than  once  since 
Paul's  time  when  women,  long  held  in  seclusion  and 
enforced  ignorance,  have  been  granted  the  freedom  that 
is  in  Christ  Jesus,  and  have  supposed  that  spiritual 
equality  in  itself  brings  social  equality.  This  game 
principle  of  subordination  produces  the  statement,  "I 
permit  not  a  woman  to  teach"  (I  Tim.  2: 12) — a  re- 
striction justified  by  the  difference  in  character  between 
praying  or  prophesying  and  teaching.  A  devout  but 
uneducated  person  may  most  profitably  pray  or  testify 


376  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

in  a  meeting,  while  the  same  person  attempting  to  ex- 
pound doctrines  would  work  much  mischief. 

More  difficult  of  explanation  is  the  absolute  command, 
"  Let  women  keep  silence  in  the  churches,  for  it  is  not 
permitted  unto  them  to  speak"  (I  Cor.  14:  34)  ;  since 
this  seems  to  contradict  the  permission  to  pray  and 
prophesy.  It  is,  perhaps,  best  explained  as  a  restriction 
from  speaking  with  tongues,  the  subject  which  Paul  is 
specially  treating  in  the  chapter  where  it  occurs.  The 
emotional  temperament  of  untrained  women,  and  the 
conspicuousness  and  comparative  uselessness  of  speak- 
ing with  tongues,  would  account  for  the  prohibition. 
Men  were  to  use  this  gift  with  great  restraint ;  women 
not  at  all.  Nevertheless,  the  desire  to  learn,  which  is 
indicated  in  the  following  verse,  would  not  seem  to  have 
anything  to  do  with  speaking  in  tongues.  Whatever 
interpretation  we  may  put  upon  this  and  Paul's  other 
restrictions  of  woman's  part  in  public  meetings,  most 
of  us  would  agree  that  they  are  binding  to-day  only  in 
so  far  as  woman's  position  intellectually  and  socially 
is  the  same  as  when  they  were  uttered. 

A  difficult  problem  which  must  often  have  arisen, 
and  which  may  be  discussed  briefly  here,  though  apart 
from  our  general  subject,  is,  What  should  be  done  with 
a  polygamous  household  or  a  member  of  it  when  con- 
verted to  Christianity?  Jesus  had  taught  monogamy. 
Should  this  be  insisted  upon?  If  a  polygamist  was 
forced  to  put  away  all  his  wives  except  the  first,  would 
not  innocent  women  thus  deprived  of  home  and  the 
almost  indispensable  protection  of  a  husband,  suffer 
unjustly?  Or  if  the  wife  of  a  polygamist  was  con- 
verted, was  it  her  duty  to  leave  him  and  also  probably 
her  little  children  ?  The  only  reference  to  a  restriction 
of  polygamy  lies  possibly  in  the  rule  laid  down  that  a 


CHRISTIAN  WORSHIP  377 

church  officer — bishop,  elder,  deacon — must  be  the  hus- 
band of  one  wife  (I  Tim.  3 :  2,  12 ;  Titus  1:6);  though 
Brigham  Young,  defending  polygamy,  expounded  this 
as  meaning  "  one  wife,  at  least.''  The  church  of  the 
second  century,  like  the  Greek  church  of  to-day,  con- 
sidered it  a  command  against  second  marriages.  Though 
a  second  marriage  is  recommended  for  young  widows 
(I  Tim.  5:14;  cf.  I  Cor.  7:39),  it  does  not  seem  to 
have  been  regarded  as  the  highest  ideal,  since  I  Tim. 
5 : 9  admits  into  the  order  of  widows  cared  for  by  the 
church  only  those  who  have  been  "  the  wife  of  one  man." 
Others  would  understand  by  the  husband  of  one  wife 
the  man  who  did  not  indulge  in  heathen  licentiousness ; 
but  would  not  all  truly  Christian  husbands  be  such? 
The  fact  that  the  restriction  is  laid  down  for  church 
officers  alone,  and  that  nothing  else  is  said  about 
polygamous  households,  seems  to  indicate  that  polygamy, 
entered  into  before  conversion,  was  tolerated  as  a  Sad 
consequence  of  previous  ignorance.  No  Christian,  of 
course,  would  he  allowed  to  take  more  than  one  wife; 
but  if  he  had  taken  more  than  one  in  heathen  days,  he 
need  not  put  any  of  them  away.  Nevertheless,  his  con- 
dition would  be  anomalous,  and  he  must  not  be  placed 
in  office  by  the  church,  lest  this  might  look  as  if  the 
church  endorsed  polygamy.  Whether  the  same  rule 
should  be  followed  to-day  is  much  discussed,  and  can- 
not always  have  the  same  answer  because  the  charac- 
ter of  polygamy,  and  the  position  of  a  woman  sepa- 
rated from  her  husband,  differ  so  greatly  in  different 
polygamous  lands. 

5.    The  Private  Religious  Service. 
The   spirit    of    Christian   brotherhood,   which   made 
each   little   group    of  believers   feel   itself  to   be   one 


378  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

family,  found  expression  in  a  common  meal,  held  at 
first  daily  and  afterwards  at  regular  times.  Such 
meals  were  usual  in  both  Jewish  and  Gentile  circles; 
but  the  poverty  of  some  of  the  Christians  may  have 
helped  on  the  practice.  To  the  room  where  such  a 
meal  was  held,  only  those  who  had  already  confessed 
Christ  were  admitted.  The  central  thought  of  the 
gathering  was  fellowship  in  Christ  and  thanksgiving 
for  His  redemption.  Concerning  the  meal  Tertullian 
says,  ^'  Our  feast  explains  itself  by  its  name ;  the 
Greeks  call  it  Agape,  i.e.,  love."  It  is  referred  to  by 
that  name,  ''  love-feast,"  in  Jude  12.  To  it  each  mem- 
ber according  to  his  ability  brought  food  which  was 
shared  by  all  in  a  truly  brotherly  manner.  The  poor 
who  were  unable  to  be  present  would  have  portions  sent 
to  them;  and  from  this  practice,  as  well  as  from  John 
13:  29,  arose  the  present-day  custom  of  an  offering  for 
the  poor  of  the  church  at  the  sacramental  service.  The 
hour  of  meeting  would  depend  upon  circumstances; 
but  in  churches  where  the  majority  were  not  free  to 
come  during  the  working  hours  it  would  have  to  be  in 
the  evening.  While  the  meal  was  a  social  one,  it  was 
also  a  sacred  one;  the  remembrance  of  the  meals  that 
Jesus  shared  with  his  disciples,  the  belief  that  though 
unseen  He  was  sharing  this  with  them,  and  the  sacra- 
ment of  the  Eucharist  with  which  it  closed,  would 
make  it  such.  Evidently  anything  that  marred  the 
spirit  of  brotherhood  and  devotion,  would  destroy  the 
true  character  of  the  meal;  and  of  a  gathering  thus 
marred  the  apostle  said,  ^'  It  is  not  possible  to  eat  the 
Lord's  Supper"  (I  Cor.  11:20  f . ;  Gal.  2:12). 

The  most  sacred  moment  in  the  Agape  came  when 
the  bread  and  the  cup  were  blessed  and  the  Lord's 
death    celebrated   by   partaking   of    them.     From   the 


CHRISTIAN  WORSHIP  379 

prayer  of  thanksgiving  this  celehration  was  known  as 
the  Eucharist ;  but  it  was  also  called  "  the  breaking 
of  bread."  It  is  thought  by  some  that  Acts  2:46, 
"  breaking  bread  at  home/'  indicates  that  at  the  out- 
set the  daily  meal  in  each  private  Christian  home  was 
made  a  sacramental  meal  after  this  manner;  and  a 
possible  precedent  is  found  in  the  Jev/ish  custom  on 
Friday  evening  of  consecrating  with  a  prayer  of 
thanksgiving  the  bread  and  wine  on  the  family  table, 
and  distributing  them  to  all  present.  However  this 
may  be,  the  Agape  with  its  accompanying  Eucharist 
presently  came  to  be  held  only  on  a  special  day,  prob- 
ably Sunday,  and  was  a  community  meal.  Still  later, 
perhaps  on  account  of  Paul's  stem  rebuke  of  the  dis- 
orders at  Corinth,  and  the  difficulty  of  preserving  a 
high  spiritual  tone  to  the  meal  because  of  the  decline 
in  religious  life,  the  Eucharist  was  separated  from  the 
common  meal,  and  celebrated  at  a  separate  time,  and 
the  term  "  the  Lord's  Supper "  was  restricted  to  it. 
But  just  when  in  the  second  century  this  separation 
took  place  we  cannot  determine, — probably  at  different 
times  in  different  localities.  The  Didache  lays  down 
the  rule,  "  On  the  Lord's  Day  do  ye  assemble  and 
break  bread  and  give  thanks,  after  confessing  your 
transgressions,  in  order  that  your  sacrifice  may  be 
pure;"  and  it  gives  a  prayer,  a  very  beautiful  one,  to 
be  used  before  distributing  the  cup,  and  another  for 
the  close  of  the  service.  The  warnings  of  Paul  against 
failure  to  realize  the  true  significance  of  the  service, 
have  had  the  unfortunate  result  in  many  instances  of 
casting  about  the  eucharistic  service  an  atmosphere  of 
solemnity  rather  than  the  original  one  of  rejoicing, 
and  of  making  participation  in  it  to  some  an  anxious 
and  almost  fearful   act.     The  spiritual  meaning  and 


380  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

value  of  the  Eucliarist,  concerning  which  there  has 
been  endless  discussion,  does  not  come  within  the  scope 
of  the  present  volume. 

One  other  private  meeting  of  the  Christians  was 
when  they  met  to  transact  the  business  of  the  church. 
Since  all  affairs  were  settled  by  the  joint  action  of  all 
members,  occasions  would  constantly  arise  when  they 
must  assemble  for  discussion  and  decision.  The  re- 
ception of  some  unknown  prophet  or  apostle,  the  grant- 
ing of  a  letter  of  commendation  to  some  member  who 
was  about  to  make  a  journey,  the  relief  of  a  case  of 
poverty  and  suffering,  the  despatch  of  a  letter  asking 
apostolic  advice  on  some  disputed  matter,  the  appoint- 
ment of  a  delegate  to  represent  the  church, — these  are 
instances  given  in  the  E^ew  Testament  of  joint  action 
by  the  church.  And  Paul  urges  upon  the  Corinthians 
the  even  more  delicate  and  difficult  task  of  acting  as  a 
law-court  for  settling  disputes  between  brethren  (I 
Cor.  6:1  f.).  While  we  may  not  rightly  call  these 
gatherings  meetings  for  worship,  the  consciousness  that 
Jesus  w?s  in  their  midst,  and  the  constant  looking  to 
Him  for  guidance  in  all  matters,  made  them  not  far 
from  such. 


CHEONOLOGY  OF  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

LUKE  gives,  though  not  clearly,  the  relative  posi- 
tion of  events  in  his  narrative ;  but  there  are  only 
two  of  these  that  we  can  place  with  fixed  dates  in 
contemporaneous  history,  viz. :  the  death  of  Herod 
Agrippa  I  in  44  a.d.  and  the  coming  of  Gallio  as  pro- 
consul to  Corinth  in  the  summer  of  51  a.d.  The  death 
of  Jesus  was  formerly  placed  at  30  a.d.  but  now  more 
often  is  assigned  to  29  a.d.  With  these  three  dates 
we  can  fairly  well  construct  a  chronology  of  Acts;  but 
other  dates  of  the  Apostolic  Age  must  remain  largely 
conjectural. 

A.D. 

29  (30).     Death    of   Jesus    (Passover).      Descent    of 
the  Holy  Spirit  (Pentecost). 
31.     Death    of    Stephen.       Conversion    of    Saul 

(fourteenth  year  before  Gal.  2:1). 
34.     Paul  returns  to  Jerusalem,   and  then  goes 
to  Syria  and  Cilicia. 
32-43.     Spread  of  Christianity  as  far  as  Antioch. 
Conversion  of  Cornelius. 
43  (44).     Barnabas    and    Saul    working    together    at 
Antioch. 

44.  Martyrdom   of   the    apostle    James.     Death 

of  Herod  AgTippa  I. 

45.  Famine  visit  of  Barnabas  and  Saul  to  Jeru- 

salem.    Events  of  Gal.  2 :  1-10. 
46-47.     First  missionary  tour  of  Paul  and  Barna- 
bas.    Epistle  of  James. 
381 


382  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

48.     Paul    in    Antiocli.      Visit    of    Peter    (Gal. 
2:11  f.).     Council  at  Jerusalem. 
49-51.     Second  missionary  tour  of  Paul.     I  and  II 
Thessalonians. 
52.     Felix  procurator  of   Judea.     Paul   at  An- 
tioch  writes  Galatians. 
52-56.     Third  missionary  tour  of  Paul.     I  and  II 

Corintliians.     Romans. 
56-58.     Paul  arrested  in  Jerusalem  and  imprisoned 
in  Caesarea. 
58.     Festus  procurator.     Paul  winters  at  Malta 
on  his  way  to  Rome. 
59-61.     Paul  at  Rome  writes  Philemon,  Colossians, 

Ephesians  and  Philippians. 
61-67.     Paul  released,  continues  his  mission  tours, 
writes  I  Timothy  and  Titus. 
61  (62).     Death  of  James,  brother  of  the  Lord. 
64.     Nero's  persecution. 

66.     Jewish    revolt    against    Rome.      Gospel    of 
Mark.     Hebrews. 
67  (68).     Paul   again   imprisoned   and  put   to   death. 
II  Timothy. 
70.     Siege  of  Jerusalem  finished  in  September. 
Destruction  of  temple. 
70-80.     Gospels  of  Matthew  and  Luke.     Epistle  of 

Jude.     I  Peter. 
81-96.     Domitian  emperor.     Book  of  Acts.     Apoc- 
alypse of  John. 
90-  ? .     Epistles  and  Gospel  of  John.     II  Peter. 


INDEX 


Acts,  17f,  221,  231. 
Agabus,  93,  218,  359. 
Agape,  see  Love  Feast. 
Agrippa,   see  Herod   Agrippa. 
Ananias  the  high-priest,  223. 
Ananias  of  Damascus,  81,  166. 
Ananias   of  Jerusalem,   41,   48. 
Ananus,    160,   271. 
Antioch,   Pisidian,   108, 
Antioch   of   Sj^ria,   90. 
Apocalypses,   316f, 
Apocalypse  of  John,  314f. 
Apollos,   67,   178f,   191,  193. 
Apostles,   358. 
Apostolic  Age,  13f. 
Aquila,  see  Priscilla. 
Arabia,  Paul  in,  84. 
Areopagus,  144. 
Aretas,  85. 
Aristarchus,   228. 
Artemis,    177. 
Asiarch,   177,   180. 
Athens,  142f. 

Baptism,    352f. 

Baptism  with  the  Holy  Spirit, 
33f,   60,   65,   180. 

Barnabas  gives  a  field,  41; 
endorses  Paul,  86;  labors 
at  Antioch,  91;  aids  in 
famine,  93f;  defends  Titus, 
94f;  journeys  with  Paul, 
104;  sides  with  Peter,  121; 
attends  council,  126;  jour- 
neys with  Mark,  131. 

Bernice,  227. 

Beroea,  141. 

Bishops,  364. 

Christians,  origin  of  name,  92. 

Church,  birth  of,  28;  rapid 
growth,  37f;  membership, 
350f;  fellowship,  355;  offi- 
cers, 357;  discipline,  365; 
worship,   367f. 

"  Church  in  the  house,"  369. 


Circumcision,  Party  of,  66,  117, 

121f,  125. 
Claudius,  16,  92,  137. 
Clement,  First  Epistle  of,  15. 
Codex  Bezae,  22. 
Collection    for    Jerusalem,    97, 

157,  185,  190,  205f,  219. 
Colony,  Roman,  108,  136. 
Colosse,  237. 

Colossian  heresy,  237,  242. 
Colossians,  Epistle  to,  237f. 
Communism  in  Jerusalem,  41. 
Conversion,   351;    of  Paul,   75f. 
Corinth,   145,   189. 
Corinthian  foes  of  Paul,  200. 
Corinthians,  Epistles  to,  188f. 
Cornelius,  64f. 

Council,  Jerusalem,  124f,  170. 
Crete,  254. 
Crispus,   145,  147. 
Cyprus,  105. 

Damascus,  83. 
Days,  Sacred,  367. 
Deacons,  44,  363f. 
Dead,  Baptism  for  the,  355. 
Demetrius,   186. 
Demoniacal  possession,  136. 
"Devout,   The,"   59.^ 
Diana,  of  the  Ephesians,  177. 
Didache,  16,  353,  361,  379. 
Diotrophes,  336,  344. 
Dispersion,  see  Hellenists. 
Domitian,  304f. 
Drusilla,  225f. 

Ebionites,  272. 
Elders,  336,  364. 
Elymas,  106. 

Emperor  worship,  102,  303f. 
Epaphras,  237. 
Epaphroditus,   245. 
Ephesus,  134,  155,  176. 
"  Ephesian  letters,"  182. 
Ephesians,  Epistle  to,  242f. 
Epistles  of  Paul,  149,  233. 


383 


384 


INDEX 


ErustuB,  185,  192. 

Ethiopia,  62. 

Eucharist,  see  Lord's  Supper. 

Eunice,  112. 

Eunuch,  Ethiopian,  62. 

Eutychus,  217. 

Evangelists,  344,  360. 

Felix,  225,  268. 
Festus,  226,  268. 
Flesh  and  Spirit,  173. 
Friday,  sacredness  of,  368. 

Galatia,  108,  133,  168. 
Galatian  controversy,  165f. 
Galatians,  Epistle  to,  168f. 
Gallio,  148. 
Gamaliel,  47,  54,  71. 
Gentiles  and  Judaism,  58,  83. 
Gnosticism,   61,   237f,  255. 
Gospels,  Discarded,  298f;    Oral, 

42,  285f,  290;   Synoptic,  284, 

346. 
Grecians,  see  Hellenists. 
*•' Greeks,"  91. 

Hebrew  Christians,  44,   55,  90, 

96f,  266,  270f,  276,  294. 
Hebrews,  Epistle  to,  273f. 
Helena,  92. 

Hellenists,  44,  54,  56f,  87,  162. 
Herod  Agrippa  I,  93,  267. 
Herod  Agrippa  II,  227. 
Holy  Spirit,  see  Baptism  with. 

Iconium,  40. 

Infants,  Baptism  of,  354. 

James  the  Apostle,  93. 

James  the  Just  and  Titus,  95; 
and  the  Law,  119;  at  the 
council,  126;  head  of  church, 
160;  attitude  to  Paul,  220; 
patriotism,  270. 

James,  Epistle  of,  161f. 

Jiason,  139. 

Jewish  Christians,  see  Hebrew. 

Jerusalem,  29,  36,  53,  129,  266, 
268. 

Jesus,  24f,  34,  264,  284,  341. 

Jesus,  Sayings  of,  see  Logia. 


John  in  Samaria,  60;  and 
Titus,  95;  later  labors  and 
death,   331f. 

John,  Gospel  and  Epistles  of, 
334;  authorship,  335f;  rela- 
tion to  Apocalypse,  337f; 
I  John,  339f;  II  and  III 
John,  342f;  Gospel  of  John, 
345f. 

John,  Apocalypse  of,  314f, 
337f. 

Josephus,  16,  21. 

Judaism  and  Rome,  56;  and 
Gentiles,  58;  and  women,  83 

Judaizers,  165. 

Judas  Barsabbas,  128. 

Judas,  vacant  place  of,  30f. 

Jude,  281. 

Jude,  Epistle  of,  281f,  311f. 

Julius,  228. 

Law  and  Christians,  43,  96, 
116f,  191,  279f. 

Logia,  287f,  294,  296. 

Lord's  Day,  32,  368. 

Lord's  Supper,  30,  45,  301, 
378f. 

Lot,  use  of,  31. 

Love  feast,  120,  196,  378. 

Luke,  probable  author  of  Acts, 
18f;  possibly  at  Antioch, 
109;  joins  Paul  at  Troas, 
135;  remains  at  Philippi, 
138;  goes  with  Paul  to  Jeru- 
salem,  217;    and  Rome,  228. 

Luke,  Gospel  of,  295f. 

Lydia,  136,  139. 

Lysias,  222. 

Magi,  60f. 

Malta,  229. 

Mark,    John,    103,    107,    ISlf, 

289. 
Mark,     Gospel    of,    290f,    294, 

296,  346. 
Miletus,  Paul  at,  218,  258. 
Miracles,  38f. 
Mystery  Religions,  101. 

Nero,  260,  300,  320. 

Old  Testament,  use  of,  30,  371. 


INDEX 


385 


Onesimus,  234. 

Oral  Gospel,  42,  285f,  290. 

Palestine  and  Rome,  267f. 

Pamphylia,   107,   114. 

Paphos,  40,   105. 

Paronsia,  152f. 

Pastoral  Epistles,  249f. 

Patmos,   333. 

Paul,  importance  of,  67;  boy- 
hood, 68;  with  Gamaliel,  71; 
return  to  Tarsus,  72;  a  per- 
secutor, 54,  74;  conversion, 
75f;  in  Damascus  and  Ara- 
bia, 80,  83;  returns  to  Jeru- 
salem, 86;  in  Syria  and  Cili- 
cia,  88;  with  Barnabas  at 
Antioch,  92;  defends  Titus, 
94f;  goes  on  first  mission- 
ary tour,  104;  in  Cj^prus, 
105;  change  of  name,  69, 
107;  in  Pisidian  Antioch, 
108;  in  Iconium,  Lystra, 
Derbe,  111;  appearance.  Ill; 
returns  to  Antioch,  113;  re- 
bukes Peter,  123;  attends 
council,  125;  parts  from 
Barnabas,  131;  goes  on  sec- 
ond tour,  132;  takes  Tim- 
othy, 133;  at  Troas,  135; 
Philippi,  136;  Thessalonica, 
139;  Beroea,  141;  Athens, 
142;  Corinth,  145;  writes  I 
and  II  Thess.,  150f;  sails  to 
Ephesus,  155;  visits  Jerusa- 
lem, 157;  at  Antioch  writes 
Galatians,  168;  labours 
in  Ephesus,  ISOf;  writes 
repeatedly  to  Corinthians, 
188f;  visits  Macedonia,  201, 
208;  writes  again  to  Corin- 
thians, 202;  at  Corinth 
writes  Romans,  208;  bears 
collection  to  Jerusalem, 
216f;  arrested,  222;  prisoner 
of  Lysias,  222;  of  Felix, 
225;  of  Festus,  226;  voyage 
to  Rome,  228;  in  piis(.n  at 
Rome,  230,  246;  wiites 
Phile.,  Col.,  Eph.,  Phil.,  233f; 
probable    release,    248;     pos- 


sible later  work,  254;  letters 
to  Timothy  and  Titus, 
255f;  second  imprisonment, 
259;  death,  262;  services  to 
Christianity,  263f. 

Pella,   272. 

Pentecost,   32. 

Perga,  107,  114. 

Persecutions,  in  Jerusalem, 
46f,  54;  by  Nero,  800;  by 
later  emperors,  302f,  320f. 

Peter  initiates  choice  of  Mat- 
thias, 31;  preaches  at  Pente- 
cost, 34;  heals  lame  man, 
39;  labours  in  Samaria,  60, 
63;  converts  Cornelius,  65; 
host  to  Paul,  86;  imprisoned 
by  Herod,  93;  confers  about 
Titus,  95;  visits  Antioeh, 
119f;  at  Jerusalem  council, 
125;  later  labours  and  death, 
305f. 

Peter,  First  Epistle  of,  307. 

Peter,  Second  Epistle  of,  311. 

Pharisees,  47,  49,  72  224. 

Philemon,  234. 

Philip,  59,  62,  360. 

Philippi,  136. 

Philippians,  Epistle  to,  245f. 

Phoebe,  184. 

Pliny,  16,  102,  304. 

Polygamy,  376. 

Prayers  in  public  worship,  370. 

Priscilla,  146,  156,  179,  184, 
275. 

Procurators,  Roman,  268. 

Prophets,  359,  372. 

Proselytes,  58,  64. 

Q,  289. 

Rabbinical  teaching,   71. 
Rome,  burning  of,  260,  301. 
Roman  world,  98f;   citizensliip, 

es.  ■    .   ■ 

Romans,  l5p:s+le  to,  309f. 
Romans  XVI,  183,  216. 
Revelption  of   John,  314f. 

Sabbath,  338. 
Sadducees,  46,  224. 
Sami?iritar\s,  5,9,. 


386 


INDEX 


Sapphira,  41,  48. 

Saul,  see  Paul. 

Sayings  of  Jesus,  see  Logia. 

Sergius  Paulus,   106. 

Services,  Religious,  370f. 

Seven,  choice  of   the,  43f,   363. 

Silas  sent  to  Antioch,  128; 
travels  with  Paul,  132;  in 
prison  at  Philippi,  137;  at 
Thessalonica,  141;  sent  to 
Philippi,  142,  146;  returns 
to  Jerusalem,   157. 

Simon  Magus,  60f,  238,  352. 

Simon  Peter,  see  Peter. 

Simon  the  Tanner,  64. 

Singing  in  worship,  371. 

Slavery  and   Christianity,   235. 

Sosthenes,   148. 

Spain  and  Paul,  155,  205,  248. 

Stephen,  49f,  54,  74,  77. 

Suetonius,  16. 

Symeon,  161. 

Synagogue  services,  44,  57. 

Syria  and  Cilicia,  88,  124,  132. 

Tabu,  122. 
Tacitus,  16,  301. 
Tarsus,  68. 

"  Teaching  of  the  Twelve  Apos- 
tles," see  Didache. 
Teachers,  343,  360,  372. 
Text  of  Acts,  22. 
Thekla,  111. 
Theophilus,   20. 

Thessalonians,  Epistles  to,  149. 
Thessalonica,  138. 


"  Thorn  "  of  Paul,  88,  108,  140, 
146. 

Timothy  at  Lystra,  112;  joins 
Paul,  133;  sent  to  Thessa- 
lonica, 142,  146;  reports 
state  of  Galatians,  168;  at 
Ephesus,  182;  sent  to  Co- 
rinth, 185,  192,  200;  with 
Paul  at  Rome,  232;  in 
charge  at  Ephesus,  254f; 
summoned  to  Rome,  259; 
mentioned  in  Hebrews,  274. 

Timothy,  Epistles  to,  253f, 
25i8f.'' 

Titus,  controvers}^  over,  94f; 
sent  to  Corinth,  190,  200, 
202;   at  Crete,  257. 

Titus,  Epistle  to,  257f. 

Titus,  Emperor,  268f. 

Titus  Justus,  147. 

Tongues,  33f,  65,  196,  372f. 

Troas,   135,  187,  201,  217,  258. 

Trophimus,  222. 

Tychicus,  239. 

Tyrannus,  22,  181. 

Vespasian,  268. 

Visions  of  Paul,  77,  81,  87,  88, 
135,  147,  224. 

"We"  passages,  17f. 
Widows,  care  for,  43. 
Women  in  public  worship,  196, 

374. 
Worship,      Christian      29,      44, 

367f. 


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